Three Tales (opera)

Three Tales is a video-opera in three acts (titled Hindenburg, Bikini and Dolly) with music by American composer Steve Reich and visuals by Beryl Korot, his wife. It is scored for two sopranos, three tenors, string quartet, percussion, keyboards, and pre-recorded audio. Its premiere was at the Vienna Festival on May 12, 2002; the BBC had commissioned a version for television broadcast four months later. The 12-minute tale Hindenburg had been written (and recorded) in 1998, while the remaining tales were completed (and recorded) in the year of the premiere.

The musical narrative of Three Tales follows "speech melodies" of pre-recorded interviews, and in many ways resembles Reich's works The Cave (1990–1993), City Life (1995) and Different Trains (1988). The libretto of Three Tales can be found on the website of the composer (see bottom of page).

Three Tales is a response to nearly a hundred years of modern technology, concerning the explosion of the Hindenburg, nuclear testings on Bikini Atoll, and the cloning of Dolly the sheep (drawing connections between genetic engineering and artificial intelligence). The different stories are told from various perspectives, with speech culled from interviews with eyewitnesses, audiovisual documentary material of both the Hindenburg and Bikini tragedies, and experts in computer science (e.g. Marvin Minsky and Kevin Warwick), artificial intelligence (Rodney Brooks), Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, and genetic engineering (Richard Dawkins).

Synopsis

The three tales (acts) divide into various sub-sections:

Act I – Hindenburg

It could not have been a technical matter – Nibelung Zeppelin – A very impressive thing to see – I couldn't understand It

Act II – Bikini

In the air I – The atoll I – On the ships I – In the air II – The atoll II – On the ships II – In the air III – The atoll III - On the ships III - Coda

Act III – Dolly

Cloning - Dolly - Human body machine - Darwin - Interlude - Robots/Cyborgs/Immortality

Performers

• vocal quintet: 2 sopranos, 3 tenors
• 4 percussionists: 2 vibraphones, 2 snare drums, 2 pedal bass drums, suspended cymbal, large gong
• 2 pianos
• string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)
• pre-recorded tape or hard disk recorder

Recordings

• Steve Reich Ensemble. Three Tales. Rec. June 2002. Judith Sherman, 2003 (audio)
• Three Tales. Dir. Nick Mangano. Perf. Steve Reich Ensemble, Synergy Vocals. Videocassette. Brooklyn Academy of Music, 2002 (visual).

External links

• SteveReich.com - Three Tales - opera libretto
• Amazon.com: Three Tales