How was the project originally conceived?
It began with the text. The story for each opera I have written has been chosen to suit the character of the opera house it is written for. There is always a very special personality and style for that house and its public and so we needed to find a text that would fit well with Glyndebourne. I presented the idea of Gabriel Garciá Márquez's novel Of Love and Other Demons to David Pickard and Vladimir Jurowski and they thought it an appropriate choice.
This is the first time that I have composed not for a theatre piece but instead with a libretto created from a novel. I was very enthusiastic about this story as it is full of fantasy but most of all love. For me this is fundamental – opera and love.
Why did this novel seem like a Glyndebourne piece?
I know the Glyndebourne audience as I have conducted here (The Makropoulos Case /Festival 2001). I had considered many other ideas but Márquez's story is one that will touch immediately the Glyndebourne audience, especially the central issues of faith and different cultures. Most interesting of all is the element of fantasy. My other operas Angels in America and Le Balcon were more theatre pieces – theatre with music, cabaret – but in Love and Other Demons I tried to avoid concrete elements.
There is no physical limit in this novella, everything is possible. Márquez says that the young girl, Sierva María, has hair 22 metres long which is of course not possible; he lies to us from the very beginning! This fantasy world allows me freedom as a composer to concentrate on the music rather than the action. This work is my first opera about love and my first opera quasi bel canto. It gives each singer the chance to show the beauty of the voice.
Do characters have particular motifs, styles or melodies?
Not really motifs or melodies but there are three different musical cultures. One uses elements of the African style which was transformed by the Spanish during the 17th century. The housekeeper Dominga and the slave women represent this style, as does Sierva at the beginning. However, from this simple African style as a young girl she evolves into a woman with much more complicated musical language.
The second musical style is my own style for this piece. I often say I have no style; instead each piece has a style. I work on an opera for so long that I find it develops its own musical identity. Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner did exactly the same thing; The Magic Flute is a completely different Mozart to the Mozart of Così. They invented different styles for each piece. Of any of my previous works, The Three Sisters is probably most like the music of Love and Other Demons in its density.
As a composer I see myself as a mirror in front of these texts and situations. I must play every role. To help me ‘become' Sierva or Dominga or Delaura, I often spoke with the director Silviu Purcarete to help fully understand the complexity of their personalities. I needed a relatively long time to absorb the setting of Márquez's story as it was very new to me. I visited Spain, listened to Spanish music, researched atholicism and exchanged ideas with a bishop for the religious characters.
The third style is for the physician, Abrenuncio. He is a very mixed character and I wrote him completely different music from the other characters. He sings in melisma, which is a baroque technique, but his style is rooted in Armenian traditional music. The two roles of Sierva's father, the Marquis and the physician, Abrenuncio are absolute opposites. Whereas the Marquis reacts to everything too late, Abrenuncio sees catastrophe about to happen but does nothing. They are very good together and I give them very different musical styles.
How do you use the orchestra in this piece?
I know that the London Philharmonic is the highest class orchestra, as I have conducted them myself, so I can write what I want as everything is possible for them. My experience with The Three Sisters was something very special because I used two orchestras, a small ensemble in the pit and backstage an orchestra of fifty musicians. Acoustically it was a miracle for the audience and for the singers.
In Love and Other Demons, I use a standard sized orchestra but I have divided it into two halves, left and right, like stereo speakers. Many dramatic possibilities come from this idea. For example, the principal wind players are all on the left and the second wind players are on the right so this creates a dialogue. Not a duo but a permanent dialogue situation between two orchestras. Glyndebourne is so wonderful acoustically that this was my first idea.
Is it something in the story itself that suggested that approach?
Yes, it creates a sense of suspense and premonition. The music suggests something that is not there yet but will happen. I use this when composing film music too. The audience needs emotional preparation before they see what happens. The other effect that can be created in this situation with the left orchestra and the right orchestra, is a reflection or echo of the dramatic action. It allows you to play with time.
Does that go back to the notion of fantasy, that time in this piece is elastic?
I think in these terms the piece is more traditional and romantic in technique. This opera is not romantic in musical style but very romantic in terms of fantasy elements. The fantasy is the same now as the fantasy of the 19th century.
Márquez's novel Of Love and Other Demons is available to purchase now from the Glyndebourne Shop.
Find out more about the composer on the Harrison Parrott website and Peter Eötvös Website.
You may also be interested in:
Edward Kemp
Pre-performance talk with Edward Kemp and Peter Eötvös
Tickets for Love and Other Demons