Mr Emmet Takes a Walk

David Pountney, German translation by Nicola Raab (E,G)

S,Bar,B
fl(=picc,afl).cl(=bcl,asax)-hn.tpt-perc(1):vib/marimba/3wdbl/tamb/
2tom-t/tabor/SD/v.lg BD/timp/lion's roar/guero/2susp.cym(sm,lg)/
choke cym/tam-t/sm metal bar/sm biscuit tin/blackboard-pft(=cel/hpd/
elec.org/out-of-tune upright pft/grand pft on stage(ideally adapted
to play a CD pre-recorded by the pianist,or played live)-vln.vla.vlc.
db

Contemporary

Mr Emmet himself represents an enigma: is he a business man with briefcase and umbrella pursuing the ultimate commercial contract, a double agent extorting a much shadier deal from a foreign power, or a tragicomical everyman sifting through the flotsam and jetsam of a lifetime to prepare himself for death? Mr Emmet is sung by a baritone, and is supported by a bass and soprano who more explicitly adopt multiple roles: she can appear as seducer, mother, chanteuse, he as piano teacher, engineer, waiter and ultimately as nemesis extracting the fatal signature. The drama is framed by the man and woman scrubbing the walls of the room, eradicating the memory of Emmet along with the dirt and blood.

Comic, Poetic, Tragic