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Alice's Adventures Under Ground (opera)

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Page from the original manuscript copy of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, 1864, held in the British Library

Alice's Adventures Under Ground is a 2016 one-act opera by Gerald Barry to his own libretto, based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (the original manuscript of which had the title of Alice's Adventures Under Ground) and its 1871 sequel Alice Through the Looking-Glass. First performed in a concert staging at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles on 22 November 2016 (a performance repeated with the same cast and conductor, Thomas Adès, at the Barbican Centre in London a few days later),[1][2] it received its stage premiere at the Royal Opera House on 3 February 2020.[3] The staging was a joint production by the Royal Opera House, Irish National Opera and Dutch National Opera, and was directed by Antony McDonald.[4]

The 54 roles in the opera are sung by a cast of seven.[5]

Roles

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Role Voice type Concert premieres
Walt Disney Concert Hall / Barbican Centre
November 2016
Conductor:
Thomas Adès[1][2]
Stage premiere
Royal Opera House
3 February 2020
Conductor:
Thomas Adès
(double cast)[5]
Alice soprano Barbara Hannigan Jennifer France / Claudia Boyle
Red Queen/Queen of Hearts/Duchess
Mock Turtle/Passenger1/Oyster1
mezzo-soprano Allison Cook Allison Cook / Clare Presland
Red Knight/Humpty Dumpty/King of Hearts
Bottle 4/Cake 4/Baby 4/Oyster 4
Passenger 6/Daisy 4
bass Joshua Bloom Alan Ewing / Joshua Bloom
Dormouse/White Queen/Tiger-Lily/Mock Turtle
Cook/Passenger 2/Oyster2
contralto Hilary Summers Carole Wilson / Hilary Summers
White Rabbit/White King/Mad Hatter
Tweedledum/Frog Footman/Fawn/Bottle 1
Cake 2/Baby 1/Passenger 3/Daisy 1
tenor Allan Clayton Nicky Spence / Sam Furness
White Knight/Cheshire Cat/Soldier/Bottle 3
Cake 3/Baby 3/Oyster 3/Passenger 5/Daisy 3
baritone Mark Stone Stephen Richardson / Mark Stone
March Hare/Tweedledee/Fish Footman/Guard
Messenger/Bottle 2/Cake 1/Baby 2
Passenger 4/Daisy 2
tenor Peter Tantsits Robert Murray / Peter Tantsits
Lewis Carroll (silent role) Lukas Hunt
Lorina Riddell (silent role) Bianca Hopkins
Edith Riddell (silent role) Eloise Hymas

Synopsis

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The following synopsis is in accordance with the Royal Opera House production, 2020.[6]

The opera, which is in a single act and lasts for just under an hour, is a sequence of episodes or parts of episodes from both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass. It begins with Alice falling through the Rabbit Hole and meeting many of the characters of the first book, including the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Mock Turtle and the King, Queen and Knave of Hearts. Some of the poetry from the books also features, including "Jabberwocky" which is sung in versions in Russian (to the tune of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary"), French and German.[1] Moving to Looking Glass Land, Alice moves across the chessboard, meeting among others Humpty Dumpty and Tweedledum and Tweedledee, becoming a queen when she reaches the eighth square.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Swed, Mark (23 November 2016). "Review: The craziest opera yet: Gerald Barry's 'Alice's Adventures'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b Nice, David (29 November 2016). "Alice's Adventures Under Ground, Barbican". theartdesk.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Alice's Adventures Under Ground". Royal Opera House. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. ^ Royal Opera House (2020b), p. [1]
  5. ^ a b Royal Opera House (2020a), p. 6
  6. ^ Royal Opera House (2020b), p. [3]

Sources

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  • Royal Opera House (2020a). Programme, Alice's Adventures Under Ground
  • Royal Opera house (2020b). Cast list, Alice's Adventures Under Ground