''Sands of Time'' is a short opera composed by the Welsh composer
Peter Reynolds to a libretto by Simon Rees. Its world premiere, at an outdoor shopping centre in
Cardiff on 27 March 1993, was accompanied by a nine-piece band conducted by
Carlo Rizzi, director of
Welsh National Opera.
The performance, sung by soprano Rhian Owen and baritone Dominic Burns, was timed at 4 minutes 9 seconds,
[ and was certified by adjudicators from the ]Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the world's shortest opera, beating the previous record held by Darius Milhaud's '' Deliverance of Theseus'' (1928), which lasts just over 7 minutes.Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...
's ''A Hand of Bridge
''A Hand of Bridge'', opus 35, is an opera in one act composed by Samuel Barber with libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, and is possibly the shortest opera that is regularly performed: it lasts about nine minutes. It premiered as a part of Menotti's F ...
'' and Jacques Offenbach's ''Le 66
''Le 66'' is an opérette in one act of 1856 with music by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was by Auguste Pittaud de Forges and Laurencin ( Paul Aimé Chapelle). Lamb A., "Jacques Offenbach (List of stage works)" in: ''The New Grove Dictio ...
'') at the Grimeborn Festival, Dalston, London.
Scenario
The opera's two protagonists are Stan and Flo, a married couple who quarrel during breakfast. They are interrupted by a knock on the door from which they learn that they have won a large sum of money on the football pools
In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may encou ...
, and are reconciled.[ The duration of the opera is that required to boil an egg, which is placed in the pan at the start and removed as the opera ends.]
Form
Despite its brevity the work, which consists of eight identifiable numbers, contains in condensed form the traditional elements of classical opera: an overture, opening chorus, arias, recitative and a finale.[ There is a notable influence of 19th century Italian opera in Stan's aria "Down with a splash of cologne", which references the heroic tenor style of Verdi's '' Il trovatore''. In the middle section of the work there is a short, rapid ]patter-song
The patter song is characterised by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note. It is a staple of comic opera, especially Gilbert and Sullivan, but it ...
, reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan.[
According to Reynolds, "the intention was to create a piece which bore the same relationship to opera as a miniature does to a full-length portrait".][ The work has not been published, though it has been performed at regular intervals. It was written in a single evening; Reynolds admitted embarrassment over the state of the only copy of the score: "I didn’t produce the neatest score in the world", he said.][ ]
References
{{Reflist
External links
Online recording
English-language operas
Operas
1993 operas
Operas by Peter Reynolds