The Angle of Reflection

The Angle of Reflection

Libretto by Leanna Brodie

Premiere: 4 April 2009
Soprano Julia Booth
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conductor Hamish McKeich
Auckland Town Hall

Programme Note

The idea for the work, effectively a monodrama, was developed by Leanna Brodie into the story of The Angle of Reflection. Sabryn, a mother to Evan, a blind infant, ponders how she will explain the world, a world she knows through sight. Sabryn also bears an underlying guilt that she is responsible for her son’s condition. She tries various approaches before finding the best path forward. Sabryn’s son is too young to speak or even register what his mother is going through, so the libretto feels like a one-way dialogue.

The Angle of Reflection was composed as part of the APO Composer Workshop for works for solo voice and orchestra in conjuction with the New Zealand Opera.

Audio

Audio recording courtesy of Radio New Zealand on the Sounz website.

Work Details

Voice

Soprano

Instrumentation

3 Flutes (3. doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboes
Cor anglais
3 Clarinets in B-flat (3. doubling Bass Clarinet)
2 Bassoons
Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in C
3 Trombones (TTB)
Tuba

Timpani
Percussion - 2 Players

(bass drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal, tam-tam, triangle, tambourine, ratchet, xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone,

Harp

Strings

Duration

13 minutes

Further links

Sounz website with further information, score sample and purchase options.

The Leanna Brodie website with further information about the Canadian playwright.

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