The Bewitched

Harry Partch realized his concept of modern ritual dance theatre in The Bewitched by blending influences from the music theatre traditions of China, Indonesia, Africa and Ancient Greece. In the manner of the ancient Greek chorus, the musicians not only play instruments, but are also actively involved in the plot with occasional vocal and theatrical contributions. In The Bewitched, humans represented by the dance group have been ‘bewitched’, alienated through social conditioning, vanity and prejudices. In ten scenes, they are ritually liberated from their neuroses by a witch, the lead singing role, who utilises the chorus of musicians as her medium. The predominantly percussive music is characterised by the idiosyncratic instruments developed by Partch himself and is rich in timbres reminiscent of Balinese gamelan music and the tonal worlds of African and Chinese music.

The Bewitched also exists in a version for female voice and ensemble (A Ballet Satire).