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''Perfect Lives'' is a 1983 television opera in seven episodes (or acts) by American contemporary composer
Robert Ashley Robert Reynolds Ashley (March 28, 1930 – March 3, 2014) was an American composer, who was best known for his television operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. His works often involve ...
, directed by John Sanborn. It was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in 2005, and a book of the
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 ...
as well as an audio recording on CD and cassette have also existed.


Background and themes

Among many varying descriptions of the work, Ashley once described ''Perfect Lives'' as a "
comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
about
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
". Ashley's biographer,
Kyle Gann Kyle Eugene Gann (born November 21, 1955, in Dallas, Texas) is an American professor of music, critic, analyst, and composer who has worked primarily in the New York City area. As a music critic for ''The Village Voice'' (from 1986 to 2005) and ...
, meanwhile, has stated that it can be called a "performance novel", "if opera raises too many expectations". ''Perfect Lives'' has been described as consisting of "digressions about the US landscape and American lives, performed in American
vernacular language A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
". It audiovisually makes use of
self-reference Self-reference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence, idea or formula refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some encoding. In philoso ...
s, non-sequiturs, an
eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
, pop-based but
minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
approach to its musical structure (sculpted by "Blue" Gene Tyranny and Peter Gordon), and surreal and intertwined visual editing (often making use of overlays and captions), as well as subjects like "Midwestern ennui", social conflict and
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
. The seven episodes often refer to events that are either about to happen or have happened, in an order depending more on the actions of other main characters than linear time. In its libretto, interjections and declared propositions are highlighted in small italic type. The first and last episodes, "The Park" and "The Backyard", were originally presented on Ashley's 1978 album ''Private Parts'', albeit in a more stripped down form and with accompanying
tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబలఠ...
playing. According to Ashley via Gann, its structure is based on the
Bardo Thodol The ''Bardo Thodol'' (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the ''Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation t ...
(the ''Tibetan Book of the Dead''), although he intended to model it on Midwestern
evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
as well. The work's further extensions are ''Atalanta (Acts of God)'' and ''Now Eleanor's Idea'' (the opera followed by the tetralogy, the latter including ''Improvement'', ''eL/Aficionado'', ''Now Eleanor's Idea'' and ''Foreign Experiences''), and they are also based on American religions.


Roles


Synopsis

These are songs about the
Corn Belt The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States that, since the 1850s, has dominated corn production in the United States. In the United States, ''corn'' is the common word for maize. More generally, the concept of the Corn Belt con ...
and some of the people in it ... or on it.


Act 1: The Park (Privacy Rules)

: 11am The narrator, "R", is set in place as being Ashley himself. Raoul de Noget, an over-the-hill lounge singer of unknown age, and his companion Buddy, nicknamed "The World's Greatest Piano Player", have arrived in a small town in the
American Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
. Raoul is sitting on a bed in his motel room, contemplating his new life. He makes himself a drink, plays with the telephone mindlessly, trying to call for breakfast, and mentally sets in place the "forwardness and backwardness" of life. He steps outside and makes his way to The Park, making two new friends: Isolde and her brother Donnie, nicknamed "The Captain of The Football Team". Together, they plan a plot that will work one way or another as a philosophical work of art: to rob a sizable amount of money from The Bank, go over the border with the money to
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, and return it the next day "to let the whole world know it was missing".


Act 2: The Supermarket (Famous People)

: 3pm Helen and John, Isolde's parents and a couple from The Home who have visited "on a holiday", are in The Supermarket, after a commotion at The Bank. As they shop, "R" describes their relationship (which, "if they marry, one of them will lose the privileges"), their metaphysical relationship to The Supermarket, and among other things, Helen's decisions to do with buying a can of
succotash Succotash (from Narragansett ''sahquttahhash'', "broken corn kernels") is a vegetable dish consisting primarily of sweet corn with lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added, such as onions, potatoes, turnips, tomatoes, b ...
. Ed and Gwyn, an eloping couple, have met.


Act 3: The Bank (Victimless Crime)

: 1:30pm Raoul and Buddy (and his dogs), along with Isolde, have entered The Bank, ready to perform their plot. Gwyn is revealed as being a teller at the bank, and Donnie is also the assistant to the bank manager. A recurring song plays on the radio, and strange events happen in The Bank: Buddy's dogs have begun loudly arguing in Spanish (sounding "like a noise from Hades"), and annoyed at this, Isolde gives herself the excuse to get a bucket of water and splash it over the dogs, but misses and splashes the bank manager instead, who goes into the safe to change his clothes. However, with the three simultaneously trying to get the money, it turns out "the money is not there". As the eloping couple, Ed and Gwyn, drive off, these events repeat. This breaks away to a sequence where every teller at the bank is identified and introduced ("...works at the bank, that's her job, mostly she helps people count their money, she likes it"). All of these characters represent visions expressed in Ashley's later work, ''Now Eleanor's Idea''.


Act 4: The Bar (Differences)

: 11pm Buddy and Raoul arrive at The Bar, coming in contact with Rodney, who is The Bartender. A series of recaps occurs. His wife, Baby, enjoys Buddy's video tapes, named The Lessons, and wishes to flawlessly perform
boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...
music like he does. As Buddy's piano playing (which has been consistent throughout ''Perfect Lives'') continues to become more dynamic in a series of Sermons, "R" discusses his ideas of The Seed, The Root and The Drone. Visually, this Act continuously references itself in the form of rewinding through the opera itself.


Act 5: The Living Room (The Solutions)

: 9pm Will and Ida, a couple sitting in The Living Room, have sought out a way to figure out the overall motive of Raoul, Buddy and Isolde. Meanwhile, in Indiana, where Ed and Gwyn have driven (with the money hidden in the car), they meet with Donnie and his friend Dwayne, who have found a
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
that will help enact Ed and Gwyn's wedding ceremony. Here, the narrative and language becomes more abstract than it has been before.


Act 6: The Church (After the Fact)

: 5pm However, the JP is entranced by Gwyn's behavior, and mentally he is transported to other wedding ceremonies in the past, including one with a bride-to-be named Lucille who spoke in tongues, and eventually he remembers various famous marriages (including one between a celebrity named "Snowcrash") with time and place deeply confused, as the narration of "R" builds onto the act's passionate
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
tone. The Church becomes "the church of the great light."


Act 7: The Backyard (T'Be Continued)

: 7pm The setting moves back to town. It is summer, and friends and relatives have gathered in a picnic to watch and celebrate the changing of the light at sundown, through individually counted degrees. Isolde watches from the doorway of her mother's house and counts the days. ''Perfect Lives'' ends on a bittersweet note, as "R" himself seemingly states: "Dear George. What's going on? I'm not the same person I used to be."


Legacy

''Perfect Lives'' has frequently been lauded as one of Ashley's greatest works, has garnered a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, and musicians like
Matmos Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their per ...
, Varispeed, and Trystero have performed it in its entirety. Supposedly,
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
once proclaimed "What about the Bible? And the Koran? It doesn't matter. We have ''Perfect Lives''." Experimental artist Alex Waterman has spearheaded a new Spanish-language version of ''Perfect Lives'' entitled ''Vidas Perfectas'', performing the piece around the world and producing a new video realization as well.


References

{{Portal bar, Opera Operas for television 1983 operas 1983 television films 1983 films Nonlinear narrative television series Minimalist operas English-language operas Operas set in the United States Operas