''Europeras'' is a series of five

operas Opera is a form of Western 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 li ...

by the composer

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 Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

. Cage explained the punning title thus: "For two hundred years the Europeans have been sending us their operas. Now I'm sending them back."

Europeras I and II

Europeras I and II were premiered by the Frankfurt Opera in December 1987 after a delay caused by fire; both call on the full resources of the house and apply the technique of indeterminacy to plot, stage directions, lighting, costuming, props, and sets, as well as to the music, drawn from fragments of the 18th and 19th century repertoire and intermittently drowned out by a taped Opera Mix, "as if you were shouting to someone on the opposite side of the street and a large truck passes by." The libretto, in twenty-four scenarios, likewise juxtaposes traditional operatic episodes: the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

begins "Dressed as an Irish princess, he gives birth; they plot to overthrow the French." The area of the stage is divided into 64 quadrants corresponding to the

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

and the nineteen singers share the space with dancers. Cage said "What I wanted to do was to have the programs such that if twelve people were sitting in a row each one would be looking at a different opera."
There is no conductor; performers are instead guided by large projections of a digital clock according to strict time intervals. Cage even went so far as to hand out two separate sets of librettos to the audience at the premiere, themselves culled from previous operatic works. No recordings have yet been released of "Europeras I and II."

Europeras III and IV

Europeras III and IV were commissioned by the Almeida Festival in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and premiered in 1990, subsequently touring. Both prominently feature gramophones, the former in combination with two pianists (replacing the orchestra). The latter is a chamber piece for singer, gramophone and table lamp. Mode Records issued a 2-CD set of "Europeras III and IV" in 1995: catalog # 37/38.

Europera V

The 60' Europera V, a commission of Yvar Mikhashoff for pianist, two singers, lighting and tape, premiered May 21, 1991 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. The production in the garden of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York was the last performance attended by Cage before his death on August 12, 1992. Mode Records issued a CD of 'Europera V" in 1994: catalog #36. On May 20, 2025, director of the Detroit Opera Yuval Sharon led a new production of Europera V as the culmination of his "Anarchy at the Opera" 2025 Berlin Family Lecture series at the University of Chicago.

Sources

* Revill, David. 1993. ''The Roaring Silence: John Cage – a Life''. Arcade Publishing. ,

External links

John Cage's ''Europeras'': A Light- and Soundscape As Musical Manifesto
{{Authority control Compositions by John Cage One-act operas Chamber operas English-language operas Operas 1987 operas 1990 operas 1991 operas