ARIANNA
On Another Island (2022)
children's opera
Libretto by Sara Florian
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Instrumentation:
Solo Voices (3): ARIANNA, soprano. BACCHUS, tenor. FATHER, baritone.
Chorus voices (6, optional): S1, S2, MS, T, Bar, B
Instrumentation (1): piano
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Duration: 27'
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Arianna, a little girl from Singapore, is listening to her father telling a bedtime story of the Greek myth of Ariadne. In her imaginary dream-journey, she travels around Singapore pretending to be the mythological heroine. She visits Sentosa, the Bird Park, the zoo, the Aquarium, the Botanic Gardens and the River Safari, until she reaches the harbour at Marina Bay Sands, and she learns something really important about the relationship between humans and Mother Nature from a chorus of Mermaids and from Bacchus himself. (Synopsis by Sara Florian)
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One night, little Arianna is told the story of Ariadne, the princess who was lost on the island of Naxos. As she drifts off to sleep, Arianna wakes up on a strange island—not Naxos but Singapore! There she encounters trees, animals and mermaids as she learns more about her relationship with nature. Come Join Arianna on her adventures!
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With librettist Dr. Sara Florian, the story of Ariadne was retold through a short children's opera ARIANNA On Another Island. The melodic line from Ariadne's Love was reworked into Arianna's scene. This was presented by The Opera People as a work-in-progress performance through the Esplanade PlayLab programme (11 and 12 March 2022).
Director: Bright Ong
Arianna: Moira Loh
Father/Storyteller: Reuben Lai
Bacchus: Leslie Tay
Pianist: Lin Xiangning
Illustrations: Sara Florian