,
composed and premiered in 1992, is made up of four comic
and two serious settings of familiar Old Testament Bible stories,
including accounts of Adam and Eve, the tower of Babel, David
and Goliath, King Saul's madness, David and Bathsheba, and Shadrach,
Meschach and Abed-nego in the fiery furnace. Large, cartoon-like
puppets manipulated by the singer are used to portray many
of the characters in the stories. STORIES
has been broadcast more than ten
times
on Educational Television in Kentucky and has been
performed across the country, including: the Huntington Summer
Festival of Music in Ontario, Canada, the Florida State University
Festival of New Music, a joint recital
with
the conductor emeritus of the
Louisville
Symphony, Lawrence Leighton Smith, the American Conservatory
in Chicago, Ball State University as part of a three-day residency
by the composer, for the Indiana tate University Festival of New
Music, the Southeastern Composers League, the Al Fresco Festival,
and the Kentucky Artists Showcase sponsored by the Kentucky
Arts Council. The Music Teachers National Association selected
STORIES for
performance
at their 1994 National Convention in
Washington, D.C.
STORIES
is available on CD from Capstone Records
and Tower
Records.
STORIES was recorded and released on a Compact Disc for Capstone Recordings in 1998 and is available from Tower Records and Disc Jockey. The two acts of the opera include:
"Forbidden Fruit" -Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent to partake of the "fruit", an Apple computer.
"Babel" -the story of the Tower of Babel reported as a radio broadcast, which includes an audience sing-along.
"Vertically Disadvantaged" -Goliath, a cultural philistine, is killed by David, the "servant of Art."
"Soliloquy" -a serious portrayal of the madness of King Saul which can only be soothed by the music of David's harp.
"Windows" -David's song of love, or lust, for Bathsheba.
"Fiery Furnace" -Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego are cast into the fiery furnace for refusing to
bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's idol. A
tuneful
calypso-like song recaps the story at the end.