THE HANGING OAK
A chamber opera in two acts
By Paul Drayton
Based on a story by M. R. James
All Saints Church, Falmouth - October 7 2009
St Petroc's Church, Bodmin - October 9 2009
St Eustacia Church, Tavistock - October 10 2009
A thrilling ghost story adapted from a short story by M. R. James and designed to be performed in the wonderfully atmospheric old cornish churches - it is a tale of greed, of devotion, of blackmail and the frailty of mans sense of worth.
Written for four principal soloists and a small chorus, the work also includes a small instrumental ensemble of eight players. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see and hear a brand new work conducted by the composer in its original setting and performed by the original cast.
Be afraid, be very afraid - that you may have to fight for a ticket!
A note from the composer:
Edwardian readers used to thrill to the ghost stories of M. R. James, eminent antiquarian and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. They are less widely read nowadays, though they occasionally surface as late-night TV chillers. Re-reading them recently, I felt that one in particular of these stories would lend itself to dramatic presentation as an opera. (The title is not the same as the original, so only someone who has read the whole collection will know which one has been used!)
The opera is designed for presentation in our wonderfully atmospheric old Cornish churches where the ambience, acoustic, light and shadow would best match the dark tone of the story. The setting, however, is a cathedral, where the ambitious new archdeacon, impatient to take office, appears to have hastened the demise of his elderly predecessor. His conscience begins to trouble him in increasingly strange ways while his ancient carved stall in the cathedral becomes the focus of the haunting that leads to his death.
Written for four solo principals, the work also includes a small instrumental ensemble (8) and a chorus. Economy is the watchword here, the show being planned for maximum effect with quite simple resources. Since the chorus represents a cathedral choir, young treble voices – male or female - will be especially welcome. The score includes plainsong, psalms, hymns, sung in ways designed to suggest the mental disintegration of the archdeacon.
As well as utilising the existing skills of Duchy Opera singers, the project may also offer opportunities for younger performers. To this end we would hope to arrange open rehearsals, talks and seminars to raise awareness of opera as a living and accessible art-form.
The Hanging Oak 2009
Review by Eric Dare
Jonathan Haynes, The Archdeacon (John Hobbs)
A chamber opera in two acts by Paul Drayton
Adapted from a short story by M. R. James
The Hanging Oak, a new opera composed for Duchy Opera by its musical director Paul Drayton, was premièred last week in All Saints Church, Falmouth. It was a triumph!
The opera tells of an ambitious cleric who, by hastening the death of his elderly predecessor, becomes the cathedral archdeacon, with his sister Constance as housekeeper.
They give the maid Jane the sack; but she knows his crime and blackmails him. Guilt-stricken and haunted by his mysterious cathedral stall, with images of a snarling cat and skeleton, made from an oak used for hanging, he becomes unhinged and dies.
The original ghost story is M R James's, but Paul Drayton has embellished it in many inventive ways, particularly in creating Martin, a carpenter, as husband to Jane.
 
Martin (Nicholas Hawker) and Jane (Louise Merrifield) Constance (Cheryl Brendish)
Thus an arrogant, upper class couple in the cleric's study are contrasted with an impoverished, servile pair in the carpenter's workshop. Fortunes are reversed: the venerable (!) archdeacon gets his desserts; the young couple are happy as Jane is pregnant: birth replaces death.
The haunted stall carved, we discover, by Martin's ancestor, is placed in the church's quire, (the 'cathedral') between the two platforms – the study and workshop – and where, before its reredos, the final gestures of the deranged priest ('I am pursued by an avenging demon') are dramatically echoed by huge shadows.
We may be in Trollope's 'Barchester', but the music is akin to Benjamin Britten with an orchestral score – seven instruments – that emphasises the mood of the protagonists.
The singing from all four was superb: powerful solo arias from the two sopranos included 'Why should I be blamed?' (Louise Merrifield, Jane) and 'You clergymen, grey as the day of doom!' (Cheryl Brendish, Constance). There is some ensemble singing, but much is sung as dialogue.
John Hobbs (baritone) stepping from the pages of Trollope, looked and acted the part of the archdeacon. The accompaniment to his vigorous singing echoed his imperious indignation and subsequent horror.
Nicholas Hawker (tenor) as Martin had a more difficult role. Calm, patient 'saintliness' limits acting opportunities, especially when confined to a small platform, but his singing was superb as in his opening aria: 'A simple man with calloused hands'. |
