Libretto by Richard Toop after Ovid's Metamorphoses; German version by David Greiner (E,G)
2S,M,2T,Bar
1(=picc).0.1(=bcl).0-1.0.0.0-perc(1):wdbl/cyms/hi hat/xyl/marimba/SD/
vib or glsp/3cowbells/crot/BD/tpl.bl/wind chimes/chinese bl/claves-
pft(=kbd)-vln.vla.vlc.db
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes / Bote & Bock
“Elena Kats-Chernin’s opera is about the girl Iphis, who secretly has to grow up a boy because her father only wants to have sons. Years later, when the father presents the charming Ianthe as the bride for his supposed son, they all become trapped with no escape route… Because the youngsters love each other the message is – they want to choose their own way forwards… This jumbling of emotions is staged in a touching and amusing way.”
Hannoversche Allgemeine
“Would you like to be a boy or girl? Or something completely different? The question is very ‘today’ but was already tackled two decades ago in this opera – both compact and concise… Musically, the 70-minute score is highly attractive and employs a practical orchestra oscillating between moderate modernity, dance rhythms, ragtime and klezmer…”
Die Presse