''From the Towers of the Moon'' is an opera in one act by

Robert Moran Robert Moran (born January 8, 1937) is an American composer of operas and ballets as well as numerous orchestral, vocal, chamber and dance works. Life A native of Denver, Moran studied twelve-tone music privately with Hans Apostel in Vienna an ...

, with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Michael John LaChiusa. It is based on the classic Japanese tale ''

Princess Kaguya is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story detail ...

'', or ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', which tells of a princess from the Moon who comes to Earth. Moran knew the story as ''The Tale of the Shining Princess'' and had seen a film adaptation of the legend, '' Princess from the Moon'', made by Kon Ichikawa in 1987. Moran's third opera, it was commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in 1992. Four excerpts, written for string quartet, were recorded as "Music from the Towers of the Moon" by the Balanescu Quartet.

Performance history

The opera premiered on the March 27, 1992 at the Minnesota Opera, in a production conducted by David Rudge and directed by Nic Muni. The part of the Emperor was performed by baritone Peter Halverson; the part of the girl was performed by Elisabeth Comeaux. Assistant conductor was Carl Witt. While librettist Michael John LaChiusa was an artist-in-residence at the University of North Carolina, UNC Opera presented the U.S. east coast premiere of the opera. ''Music from the Towers of the Moon'' was performed in a new string orchestra version in April 2008, at the State University of New York, Fredonia, conducted by David Rudge. The opera is approximately 80 minutes duration, and is scored for flute/piccolo, oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, horn, trombone, three synthesizers, one percussionist: one timpani, triangle, two suspended cymbals (high and low), large tam, suspended car coil, vibraphone, chimes, two timbales, two sets of bongos (low to high, only 3 bongos used) two violins, viola, and cello (or strings without bassi).

Synopsis

The story of the opera relates how an exceptionally beautiful moon goddess came to Earth and was confronted with human emotions when she falls in love with an Emperor before returning to the Moon. In the finale, the Moon princess, accompanied by Moon gods, departs from her cosmic abode to return to Earth.

Recordings

Balanescu Quartet, ''Byrne/Moran/Lurie/Torke'', ARGO label of London Records, October 1992.

Adaptations

In 1993, the opera was adapted as a

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

piece called ''Four Towers'' by choreographer Christopher House for the Toronto Dance Theatre. ''Four Towers'' was inspired by House's first hearing of Moran's music for ''From the Towers of the Moon'' and was created for Toronto Dance Theatre's twenty-fifth anniversary season. The first solo was performed by Laurence Lemieux, the trio by Naoko Murakoshi, Miriane Braaf, and Bill Coleman, and the second solo by Coralee McLaren.

Notes and references

{{Reflist Compositions by Robert Moran Operas 1992 operas Operas set in Japan Operas set on the Moon One-act operas English-language operas Japan in non-Japanese culture