The Original Chinese Conjuror

Name: The Original Chinese Conjuror
Brand: Schott Music
SKU: 805121
Availability: InStock

Edition: Performance material

Product Type

Hire Order

Product Details

Description

On 23 March 1918, the magician Chung Ling Soo stood on stage in London preparing for "The Bullet Catch". When the trick malfunctioned and he was struck by the bullet, he said in perfect English, “I’ve been shot - bring down the curtain” thus revealing his greatest deception. The Original Chinese Conjuror takes this extraordinary life as its starting point to tell a story of deceit, illusion, identity, and the cost of maintaining one of the world’s most entertaining lies. Blending the story-telling pace and energy of musical-theatre, and the rich emotional language of opera, the work invites the audience into this world.

Orchestral Cast

cl(bcl)-perc(2 wdblk, almglock, 8 button gongs, Chinese gong, 2 Chinese palm balls, 2 Chinese tblk (large and small), claves, crot, finger cym, glsp, gun shot (on stage), hi-hat, Jew's harp, mar, mark tree, metal wind chime, pedal b.d. (optional), rin, Chinese clash cym (small), s.d., sus cym, tam-t, tanggu, tri, whirling tube)-acc.pno(cel, toy pno, finger-cym, Chinese t-blk, whirling tube and Chinese gong)-vc.db(small Chinese clash cym)

More Information

Title:

The Original Chinese Conjuror

Edition:

Performance material

Publisher/Label:

Schott Music

Year of composition:

2003 - 2006

Duration:

70 ′0 ′′

World Premiere:

June 15, 2006 · Aldeburgh (UK)
Southwold Pier
Richard Morris, baritone; Sophie Louise Dann, mezzo soprano; Paul Leonard, bass; Andrew Watts, countertenor; Phillip Sutton, tenor · Conductor: Timothy Redmond · Almeida Ensemble
Original staging: Francis O’Connor · Choreography: Martin Duncan
(scenic)

Commissioned work :

Commissioned by Aldeburgh Almeida Opera with financial support from the Genesis Foundation

Keywords:

#deception #chinese culture #magician #Magician #Deception