Vincent

Based on an original libretto by American poet J.D. McClatchy (which draws on the letters of van Gogh) this two-act opera is a succession of ’tableaux’ each placing Vincent in contexts which were his real experiences thus revealing his complex character – that of genius artist, religious fanatic, alcoholic, epileptic, and unstable of temperament resulting in behavior ranging unpredictably between affability and violent aggression. The scenes suggest a more-or-less chronological outline of his late years; a transition from the ’dark’ environment of his early years, full of positive enthusiasms amid the dark surroundings, to the darkening of his inner light amid the brightness of the South. This narrative suggests a process of alienation and the degradation and diminishing of the human spirit culminating in madness and suicide. Bernard Rands