OPERA SEARCH
Escorial
(1958)Libretto from Lionel Abel's English version of the play by Michel de Ghelderode (E,G)
lyrT,Bar,B
1(=picc).1(=corA).1(=asax).1(=dbn)-1.1.0.0-perc(2):timp/xyl/t.bells/
SD/TD/BD/ratchet/cym (on stand)/ant.cyms/tgl/tamb/tam-t/wdbl-
pft(=cel,org)-strings(1.1.1.1.1)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
Kaufmann Concert Hall, New York, New York
Leopold Sachse, director
Conductor: Margaret Hillis
Company: Music in Our Time
| THE KING | High Baritone |
| FOLIAL | Lyric Tenor |
| THE MONK | Bass |
| THE MAN IN SCARLET | Silent role |
Medieval Spain, the Escorial palace
A disturbed Spanish King takes comfort in his depressive solitude. He has decreed that bells shall no longer toll, in spite of the monks' protests. His Queen has found solace in the court’s Jester, Folial. Now, she is dying at the hand of her enraged husband for her promiscuous behaviour. The King tricks the Jester into a confession about his relationship with the Queen and makes him beg for mercy. He then forces the Jester to entertain him. The Jester performs an impromptu play in which a beggar becomes king. During the play, he steals the King's crown. The King, seemingly in the spirit of things, wears the Jester's cap. They begin to playact one another's lives. The tension quickly escalates and the King reveals that he has poisoned the Queen. As the two men struggle, a monk announces the death of the Queen. The King proceeds to summon the executioner, and the Jester is killed.
Dramatic, Tragic