OPERA SEARCH
Miss Havisham's Fire
(1979, rev.1996)Libretto by John Olon-Scrymgeour, after Dickens's `Great Expectations' (E)
Major role: colS; minor roles: 2S,2M,A,2T,Bar,BBar,2B,speaker; chorus
2(I=picc,II=afl).2(II=corA).2(I=ssax,II=bcl).2(II=dbn)-3.2.2.1-
timp.perc(2):vib/t.bells/glsp/susp.cyms/tam-t/BD/whip/tgl/tamb/
steel plate/steel anvil/bell tree/tpl.bl/wind chimes-harp-pft(=cel)-
harm or org-strings
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
New York City Opera, New York, NY
H.Wesley Balk, director
Conductor: Julius Rudel
Company: New York City Opera
St. Louis, Missouri
Conductor: Beatrice Jona Affron
Company: Saint Louis Opera
| AURELIA HAVISHAM, an elderly recluse | Soprano |
| Aurelia Havisham, as a young woman of 1810 | Soprano |
| ESTELLA DRUMMLE, adopted daughter of Miss Havisham | Treble |
| Estella Drummle, as a woman of 1859-60 | Mezzo Soprano |
| PHILLIP PIRRIP, known as Pip, as a poor boy of 1846-8 | Treble |
| Phillip Pirrip, as a man of 1859-60 | Baritone |
| GRACE-HELEN BROOME, called Nanny, as a young woman of 1810 | Soprano |
| Grace-Helen Broome, as the former governess to Miss Havisham | Soprano |
| BENTLEY DRUMMLE, man about town | Tenor |
| ORLICK, caretaker at Satis House | Bass |
| JAGGERS, Miss Havisham's solicitor | Bass |
| THE CORONER, officiating at the inquest | Bass Baritone |
| Sarah Pocket, relative of Miss Havisham | Contralto |
| Camilla Pocket, relative of Miss Havisham | Soprano |
| Georgiana Pocket, relative of Miss Havisham | Mezzo Soprano |
| Raymond Pocket, relative of Miss Havisham | Tenor |
| 1st Woman, guest at the Assembly Ball | Soprano |
| 2nd Woman, guest at the Assembly Ball | Soprano |
| 3rd Woman, guest at the Assembly Ball | Mezzo Soprano |
| 1st Man, guest at the Assembly Ball (Raymond Pocket) | Tenor |
| 2nd Man, guest at the Assembly Ball | Baritone |
| 3rd Man, guest at the Assembly Ball | Bass |
| 1st Maidservant | Soprano |
| 2nd Maidservant | Mezzo Soprano |
| Pumblechook, Uncle to Pip | spoken role |
| A Chambermaid | silent role |
19th Century, the gardens and environs of the estate of Miss Aurelia Havisham; Satis House, Essex, England
Based after Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the opera is subtitled “Being an investigation into the unusual and violent death of Aurelia Havisham on the 17 of April in the year 1860.” Miss Havisham lives for 50 years in the seclusion of her home, and she dies when her wedding gown, which she has never removed since she was jilted by her fiancé, catches fire. The work proceeds on two levels at once: Throughout the opera, an investigation about her death is held on one side of the stage while the explanatory action immediately follows. A series of flashbacks fleshes out the coroner’s inquiry and past and present merge. During the Prologue screams are heard and a figure, enveloped in flames, appears at the window of Satis House. It is Miss Havisham. Pip rushes in to try to save her. The investigation of her death reveals the dark relationships Miss Havisham had with her adopted daughter Estella, and the orphan Pip. The investigation also reveals that all of the relatives involved had some motive for her death.
Dramatic, Tragic