The Voyage (opera)
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''The Voyage'' is an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in three acts (plus a prologue and an epilogue) by the American composer
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
. The English/Latin/Spanish libretto was written by
David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...
. The work was commissioned by the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and first performed there on October 12, 1992 (that date being the 500th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
discovering the Americas). The British premiere was in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, England, performed by Leeds Youth Opera, with Johnathon Clift and Mike Williamson as the directors, with Richard Pascoe playing Columbus.


Roles


Synopsis

Glass did not want to create a biographical opera about Columbus, especially in a year when there were countless films, documentaries and other events doing the same job. Instead he opted to make his opera a more general study of exploration – of the oceans, of space and time and of the mind. Columbus remains a central character though, appearing in the second act and the epilogue.


Prologue

We see a scientist in a wheelchair (reminding us of Professor Stephen Hawking), pondering time and space. He sings that despite man's inadequate mind, body and technology, the will to explore and follow one's vision "towards holes on the horizon" has always existed. Meanwhile, the chorus poses eternal questions about time and space repeatedly, growing in volume and intensity.


Act 1

Above an ice-age Earth, a spacecraft hurtles through space out of control. Its occupants are frantic; the Commander sings that nothing on the ship works properly, whilst the rest of the crew call out the ship's status and instrument readings. They see that the planet they are passing can support life, and they decide to make for it. As they await the inevitable crash landing, they recall moments from their lives. They survive the crash and decide to split up, each taking with them one of the "directional crystals" from the ship. Any two of these crystals will, when brought together, indicate the course back to the crew's home planet. The crew consider their new home and what sort of world they would like to live in; each has their own markedly different ideal world. The Commander leaves the wrecked ship to see what awaits her. Outside, she is met by a group of natives that dance a rite of spring and imagine the Commander to be a fantastic god descended from the sky. They sweep her up and she goes with them, becoming part of their celebration.


Act 2

''Spain, 1492'' Columbus is at the court of Queen Isabella bidding them farewell as he prepares to set sail for the Indies. He is promised untold riches and power on his return. Suddenly this scene fades and we realise that we are aboard Columbus' ship; he has been reminiscing about his departure. It is the 32nd day of the voyage. Doubts are beginning to set in as they sail the endless blue ocean. Isabella appears to him in a vision and reminds him of the faith of
Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
and of the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
and tells him to hold fast to his faith. She promises him that by seeing the journey through he will further the kingdom of God, as well as gain riches and power. Suddenly the First Mate shouts that he has sighted land.


Act 3

''Year 2092'' In a space station above the Earth, two astronomers ("Space Twins") scan for signs of life in the cosmos. At the same time, on the Earth, two archeologists (the "Earth Twins") have discovered two of the Directional Crystals from the ship that crashed thousands of years earlier. As they bring the crystals together, their scanning equipment homes in on the planet from which the space travellers in Act I originated. A mission to travel to the planet is begun and we see a terrific celebration as the ship prepares for launch, with dignitaries, politicians, dancers, musicians and a large crowd of well-wishers. The explorers enter the ship and bid farewell to their loved ones. The ship blasts off and another journey of discovery begins.


Epilogue

''1506'' We see Columbus on his deathbed. Monks chant around him and Isabella appears to accompany the explorer on his final journey into the unknown. (She has already passed on to that realm herself). He accuses her of breaking her promises to him but she claims that he undertook his voyage for pride and vanity, guided by
Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
. Even so, she offers herself to him but he rejects her, saying that the journey he is about to undergo is far more seductive. Pondering man's eternal quest for knowledge and exploration, he is transported up to the stars. The libretto is published as part of ''Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays'' of
David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...
by
Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...
.


Recording

In July 2006, a long-awaited complete recording of the opera became available on Glass
Orange Mountain Music
label, based on the staging by the Landestheater Linz (Austria) and conducted by
Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voyage, The 1992 operas Cultural depictions of Christopher Columbus English-language operas Opera world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera Minimalist operas Operas Operas by Philip Glass Science fiction operas Fiction set in 1492 Fiction set in the 2090s Works about astronauts