FIELD OF LIFE, op. 23
Opera in three parts (approx. 70 minutes)
based on the Noh dramas, IKUTA ATSUMORI by Konparu Zenpō and ATSUMORI by Zeami Motokiyo
Music and Libretto by John Feather
CAST
Soprano
Part One: War demon, Forest Spirit
Part Two: War demon, part of Buddha's voice, Iraqi boy
Part Three: TV Singer, Atsumori
Mezzo soprano
Part One: War demon, the Boy
Part Two: War demon, part of Buddha's voice
Part Three: Mary, War demon, the Boy
Tenor
Part One: War demon, Atsumori
Part Two: War demon, part of Buddha's voice, Atsumori
Part Three: TV Singer, War demon
Bass
Part One: War demon, the Monk
Part Two: War demon, part of Buddha's voice, Kamagui/Rensei
Part Three: Rudy/Rensei, the Monk
ORCHESTRATION: Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in B flat, Bassoon, Timpani / Wood Blocks.
Listen with score (no words but vocal melodic line) - YouTube
THEMES AND SYNOPSIS: The pain and loss of war and corresponding effects upon loved ones are represented by combining two noted classics of Noh Theatre. The opera is in three parts:
Part One: Time and place of legend. War demons introduce the sad tale of Atsumori who was killed by Kamugui, who gave up being a soldier and changed his name to Rensei to pray for the boy. "How many lives until his prayers dispel Atsumori's rage?" A monk tells of a male baby discovered by his master at a shrine. When he is ten, the boy wants to know where he came from. It is discovered he was the son of Atsumori who had been killed at a very young age in battle. Wishing to see his father, the boy prays and is told to go to Ikuta. There the boy and the monk meet the boys father who tells of the battle where he and his line were killed. As daylight arrives, demons come and take Atsumori back to hell. The boy is left alone.
Part Two is a Kyogen, a comic relief between the solemn noh acts. The war demons tell us that in a universe of jokes, the earth is their joke. Buddha appears to announce that all who pray to him shall be answered. Then Rensei appears in a slapstick battle with Atsumori. They are soon joined by an Iraqi boy and they keep tossing and rolling a baseball back and forth until Atsumori and the boy drop dead.
Part Three: In a contemporary kitchen, the TV blares. Mary enters and turns off the TV. Her husband, Rudy, an Iraqi war veteran, is at the kitchen table, drunk and high. Mary tells him she knows he is in pain but she must leave him. Alone, Rudy wonders about the worthlessness of life. Soon Atsumori appears to avenge his death at Rudy/Rensei's hand. They talk of their battle, where Atsumori, still a youth, was abandoned by his family and slain. Rudy talks of how his friend had been killed by an Iraqi suicide bomber so when a young boy came near him hiding something, Rudy shot him. A baseball rolled from the boys hand. Rudy/Rensei bares his chest to Atsumori, who finally forgives him.
The cast assumes many roles as designated above. Atsumori is played by the tenor in part one and a soprano in part three. The director has free rein for the performance. For example, dancers could perform the action as singers stand to the side, music in hand, or each character is identified by a mask which they put on as they take on a different role or shadow puppets, etc. etc etc.
