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Mirror Mirror" from the Opera, Dog Days

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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School March 2020 A Performer's Guide to "No Man In His Right Mind," "Letter," and "Mirror Mirror" from the opera, Dog Days Grace Claire McCrary Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Music Pedagogy Commons, Music Performance Commons, and the Music Practice Commons Recommended Citation McCrary, Grace Claire, "A Performer's Guide to "No Man In His Right Mind," "Letter," and "Mirror Mirror" from the opera, Dog Days" (2020). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5174. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5174 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO “NO MAN IN HIS RIGHT MIND,” “LETTER,” AND “MIRROR MIRROR” FROM THE OPERA, DOG DAYS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agriculture and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in The School of Music by Grace Claire McCrary B.M., The University of Southern Mississippi, 2015 B.M.E., The University of Southern Mississippi, 2015 M.M., Louisiana State University, 2017 May 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank David T. Little and Royce Vavrek for the artistry of Dog Days. Singing and exploring the music of Lisa has inspired me immeasurably, and I am so grateful for your musical creation. I want to thank my teacher, Professor Sandra Moon, for continuously teaching me how to be a better singer, performer, and teacher. I would like to thank the members of my committee for your guidance throughout this project. Thank you, Dr. Bade and Dr. Sims, for your mentorship and encouragement not just within this project but throughout my entire time at LSU. I would additionally like to thank my husband, Taylor McCrary, for your ever- present love and the many sacrifices you have made to support me in reaching this goal. To my parents, Dale and Lyn, and my brother, Gray, I am so thankful for you continuously believing in me and helping me reach this achievement. Finally, I want to give thanks to God for the many blessings that come with a career in music; may I always love others through music as you continuously love me. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1. THE COMPOSER ................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2. THE LIBRETTIST ................................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 3. THE CREATION OF THE OPERA, DOG DAYS ................................................ 20 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTER, LISA.................................................... 20 The Creation of the Opera, Dog Days .............................................................................. 20 The Development of the Character, Lisa .......................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 4. A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO “NO MAN IN HIS RIGHT MIND” .................. 26 The Text ............................................................................................................................ 26 The Music ......................................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER 5. A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO “LETTER” ......................................................... 44 The Text ............................................................................................................................ 44 The Music ......................................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER 6. A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO “MIRROR MIRROR” ....................................... 53 The Text ............................................................................................................................ 54 The Music ......................................................................................................................... 55 APPENDIX A. TRANSCRIPT OF SKYPE INTERVIEW WITH DAVID T. LITTLE ............. 73 APPENDIX B. LETTER OF PERMISSION ............................................................................... 96 APPENDIX C. LETTER OF PERMISSION BY BOOSEY & HAWKES.................................. 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 98 VITA ............................................................................................................................................. 99 iii ABSTRACT Dog Days is a modern, American opera based in a war-torn, post-apocalyptic United States of America. Written by internationally acclaimed composer David T. Little and internationally acclaimed librettist Royce Vavrek, Dog Days is told through the eyes of a 13-year old girl, named Lisa. This project serves as a performer’s guide to Lisa’s three arias. Chapter one provides a biographical sketch of the composer, David T. Little. Chapter two briefly describes the life events of Royce Vavrek, leading to the development of Dog Days. Chapter three provides the detailed process of how the opera was created, specifically the development of Lisa’s character. Chapter four provides music and textual analysis along with performance suggestions for Lisa’s first aria, “No Man In His Right Mind.” Within chapter five, analysis of the music is provided alongside specific performance practices regarding Lisa’s second aria, “Letter.” Chapter six provides a performer’s guide for Lisa’s final and most difficult aria, “Mirror Mirror.” With the use of amplification and alternate vocal mechanisms, Lisa’s arias differ from the normality of vocal, classical repertoire. It is the hope of the author that this document will provide information to help the success of performers while encouraging the emergence of Lisa’s arias within classical vocal repertoire iv INTRODUCTION Premiered in 2012, Dog Days is an opera based on the tragedy of a family surviving in the post-apocalyptic, war-torn United States of America. The soprano role of the daughter named Lisa befriends a mute, deranged man in a dog suit who wanders to the family home, portraying himself as a dog. Much of the plot of Dog Days is seen through Lisa’s perspective, the perspective of a young, 13-year old girl. Lisa seeks companionship with the dogman in her first aria, “No Man In His Right Mind.” As the opera progresses, the societal dynamic of Lisa’s family deteriorates. Lisa reveals her emotional turmoil and longing for her past life as she hums a beautiful melody in her second aria, “Letter”. By the end of the opera, the family is struck by severe starvation. Lisa compares herself to a model, as she peers at her bony figure in the aria “Mirror Mirror.” The role of Lisa is challenging to perform musically, physically, and emotionally. The purpose of this document is to familiarize readers and prospective performers with the character of Lisa, encouraging the emergence of her arias within standard, classical vocal repertoire. The purpose of this research project is to provide a performer’s guide for prospective performers of “No Man In His Right Mind,” “Letter,” and “Mirror Mirror.” Chapter one presents biographical information on the composer, David T. Little. This information will come from his personal website and from the personal interview that was conducted by the author. Special attention will be given to life events that lead to Little developing his unique compositional style. Chapter two addresses biographical information on the librettist, Royce Vavrek. Developments within his life that led to the writing of the libretto for Dog Days are discussed. Chapter three acts as an introduction to the historical background of Dog Days. Information presented will include data from interviewing David T. Little. Little’s process of 1 composing Dog Days and his collaboration with Royce Vavrek in developing the dynamic character of Lisa will be addressed. Performing forces, both for recital and stage production, will be discussed with specific attention to electronic amplification of the voice and instruments. Chapter four provides a performer’s guide to Lisa’s aria, “No Man In His Right Mind.” The relationship between text and music will be presented as it serves to showcase Lisa’s emotions and character development. Emotional interpretation for performance will be addressed when analyzing the text and music. Such interpretation is made easier with specific direction implicated in the score. Chapter five serves as a performer’s guide to “Letter.” Vocal technique is of special consideration within this chapter due to the utilization of the alternate vocal technique of humming. Analysis of the projected text of Lisa’s letter alongside
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