On Monday the 13th of March, almost four years since the inception of this project, I have finished the first draft of my libretto for a chamber opera, Aboulhassan and Schemselnihar. It is a 3-act opera based on a story I read in March 2013 of Prince of Persia Aboulhassan and favorite of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, Schemselnihar, from the collection of stories known as One Thousand and One Nights. This story, which takes place mainly in Baghdad in the late 8th - early 9th century, resonated so strongly with me that it became necessary to express my reactions to it through some creative outlet. It was my decision four years ago to transform this story into a chamber opera, which could be performed one day for a live audience. It is the tragic story of violent love that overwhelms the two lovers who surrender their will to live, even when the possibility of hope is presented to them. They are controlled by their passions. Pathos becomes their way of life, and sorrow debilitates and leads them to their graves.
Writing a full draft of this libretto was difficult and required four years because 1) a considerable portion of the story had to be rewritten, 2) my increasing responsibilities at the University of Iowa required me to focus my attention elsewhere, and 3) my writing style for the libretto, which is mostly in blank verse. There were key elements of this story that made it too long and necessitated some reinterpretations of the story. For example, in the original story, there is a character named Ebn Thaler, an intelligent merchant who becomes the first intermediary between the two lovers when they meet for the first time in his shop. He has a very good relationship with the caliph, and his connections with the ruler allow him to arrange a second private meeting for the two in Schemselnihar's palace. When hopes of subsequent meetings between the lovers become frustrated and increasingly difficult, with firm belief the political situation in the city of Baghdad is worsening and fears for his and his family's safety, he leaves, and a sympathetic jeweller, who meets both lovers rather fortuitously, replaces him as the link between the two protagonists. The exchanges between the jeweller and the two main characters would have required me to write additional scenes into the opera to show that the jeweller has become acquainted with these two characters and is planning to arrange their third meeting. This would have made the opera too long. In addition, I considered the jeweller's arrival to be too miraculous for such an important part of the story, and I considered it too burdensome the task to make his compassion for the lovers seem credible. My solution has been to remove the jeweller completely from the story and to develop Ebn's character. In my version the merchant becomes torn between his wisdom and his sympathy for their desires, and he decides out of pity and inability to turn away from his friends to help them, however great the risk it would be for him and his family.
It is my plan to begin work on the music for this opera once I have successfully defended my dissertation and graduated. Hopefully, in the compositional process, workshops of the words and music could take place. I cannot say, even when the music is finished, if and when it will ever be performed, but I do intend to promote this opera for as long as I live with the hope that someday it will receive a world premiere.
Writing a full draft of this libretto was difficult and required four years because 1) a considerable portion of the story had to be rewritten, 2) my increasing responsibilities at the University of Iowa required me to focus my attention elsewhere, and 3) my writing style for the libretto, which is mostly in blank verse. There were key elements of this story that made it too long and necessitated some reinterpretations of the story. For example, in the original story, there is a character named Ebn Thaler, an intelligent merchant who becomes the first intermediary between the two lovers when they meet for the first time in his shop. He has a very good relationship with the caliph, and his connections with the ruler allow him to arrange a second private meeting for the two in Schemselnihar's palace. When hopes of subsequent meetings between the lovers become frustrated and increasingly difficult, with firm belief the political situation in the city of Baghdad is worsening and fears for his and his family's safety, he leaves, and a sympathetic jeweller, who meets both lovers rather fortuitously, replaces him as the link between the two protagonists. The exchanges between the jeweller and the two main characters would have required me to write additional scenes into the opera to show that the jeweller has become acquainted with these two characters and is planning to arrange their third meeting. This would have made the opera too long. In addition, I considered the jeweller's arrival to be too miraculous for such an important part of the story, and I considered it too burdensome the task to make his compassion for the lovers seem credible. My solution has been to remove the jeweller completely from the story and to develop Ebn's character. In my version the merchant becomes torn between his wisdom and his sympathy for their desires, and he decides out of pity and inability to turn away from his friends to help them, however great the risk it would be for him and his family.
It is my plan to begin work on the music for this opera once I have successfully defended my dissertation and graduated. Hopefully, in the compositional process, workshops of the words and music could take place. I cannot say, even when the music is finished, if and when it will ever be performed, but I do intend to promote this opera for as long as I live with the hope that someday it will receive a world premiere.
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