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MENKAURE

An Opera Buffa in Three Acts by
James Nathaniel Holland


Lauren Bradley Soprano and Ethan Herschenfeld Bass star in James Nathaniel Holland's three act opera buffa, Menkaure.

(Duration: 2 hours)

BRIEF SYNOPSIS:

6,000 years ago an almighty ruler died in Aksum. But today he lives for one woman, Trista,who falls in love with his statue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is pulled deep into obsession, and her family is unable to rescue her; she tries to kiss the statue's face, and is arrested.

With a quest to find the statue's twin, she flees to the country Joondor, site of the ancient city of Aksum where she is ultimately consumed by her love for Menkaure.

FOR SALE TO PUBLIC:

Piano Vocal Score: $15.00 US
Reduced Orchestral Score: $40.00 US
Performance Rental with Parts: Please contact james@casaholanda.com



SINGERS NEEDED:

 Soprano (Lyric)
Soprano (Coloratura)
Alto or Countertenor (Comedic)
True Bass
2 Baritones
Tenor
Chorus SATB with minor roles

ORCHESTRATION:

 Picc, 2Fl, Bass Fl., Ob, Eng Hrn, 2Bb Cl., Bass Cl., Trpt, Trmb., 2Hns F,
4Percussion,
Harp,
Strings
  

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO HEAR Out-takes from the Opera:





American soprano Lauren Bradley singing the role of Trista, a woman who finds her love at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the Holland Opera Menkaure by James Nathaniel Holland

Aria: "They Say You Can Find Love"

With the constant nagging of her mother to find a new boyfriend, the lead character Trista sings of her approach to finding true love in life.

Artists:  Lauren Bradley, Soprano / James Nathaniel Holland, Piano



Scene and Duet: "Someone Tell Me Where My Daughter Is"

In this scene and duet, Trista (Lauren Bradley), has suddenly gone missing. Delphi ( Colleen McGrath, Coloratura ), her mother, and Erik
( Dennis Jesse, Baritone ), her mother's younger boyfriend, bust into Trista's apartment. Her mother is sick with worry that something sinister has happened.

Additional Artists: 
James Nathaniel Holland, Piano and Percussion / George Garrett Keast, conductor

Act II Scene Out-take: "This probably was his actual size"

In this scene, we find that Trista ( Lauren Bradley, Soprano ) has actually run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to become a docent to be nearer to her love, the statue. Mrs. Snodgrass ( Kirsten Sollek, Alto ) is in charge of the docents and delicately addresses Trista's strange behavior.

Additional Artists:
James Nathaniel Holland, Piano and Percussion / George Garrett Keast, conductor

Ethan Herschenfeld, Bass sings the role of Consolidas in Holland's Opera Menkaure about a woman who falls in love with a statue at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bass Aria: "Hatred Lives in Joondor"

In this scene from Act 3, Trista (Lauren Bradley, Soprano) has escaped arrest when she tried to kiss the statue at the museum. She flees to the third world country of Joondor, where she meets a kind local named Consolidas ( Ethan Herschenfeld, Bass). He tries to frighten her in order for her to hire him as a private guide.

Additional Artists:
James Nathaniel Holland, Piano and Percussion / George Garrett Keast, conductor


ORCHESTRATED VERSIONS (All the Opera is orchestrated):

Now click here to hear the orchestrated
version made with Garritan Orchestra

The Prologue Orchestrated
(trumpet in place of voice)
They Say You Can Find Love (Soprano aria) Orchestrated
(oboe in place of voice)
The Opening of Act II (Soprano aria and scene) Orchestrated
(clarinet in place of voice)
Someone Tell Me Where My Daughter Is (Coloratura and Baritone duet) Orchestrated
(violin and octave higher and cello in place of voices)
Hatred Lives in Joondor (Bass aria) Orchestrated
(trumpet and trombone in place of voice)



SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE ARTISTS FOR THEIR HELP:

 

Lauren Bradley Soprano
Lauren Bradley,
Soprano

International opera star and Bass, Ethan Herschenfeld.
Ethan Herschenfeld,
Bass


Coloratura and Opera Soprano, Collen McGrath.
Colleen McGrath,
Soprano

Opera Mezzo-Soprano and Alto, Kirsten Sollek.
Kirsten Sollek,
Mezzo-Soprano / Alto

George Garrett Keast is an advocate of new music by donating time and conducting to help out with this demo of the Holland opera Meankaure.
George Garrett Keast,
Conductor


Soprano Roza Tulyaganova with vocal score of Menkaure. Ms. Tulyaganova sang - They Say You Can Find Love at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey
Soprano, Roza Tulyaganova holds the vocal score to Holland's Opera "Menkaure".
Ms. Tulyaganova sang the soprano aria "They Say You Can Find Love"
at the George Street Playhouse in 2005.  



All music samples are (c) copyrighted 2010, James Nathaniel Holland. Photos provided by the artists or taken from their websites.

Menkaure photo is under licensed use:
"King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and Queen" (detail) Egyptian, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4,
Reign of Menkaure, about 2490-2472 B.C. Greywacke Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, 11.1738
Photograph: Bruce White (c) 2004 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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