Third Dream (Howard, Sages)

---FAQ---

How long does it last?
70 minutes in one act

Is it in Italian or what?
It's 100% in English, and you'll be able to hear and understand what they're singing!

People still write operas?
Sure, lots of them. Dozens - perhaps scores each year! If you think operas are all long, boring, and in foreign languages, you've somehow missed about 100 years of opera history. For starters, read up on Benjamin Britten, John Adams, Philip Glass, William Bolcom, etc.!

Is this your first opera?
Yes!

Who wrote the libretto?
I wrote it, having some experience writing poetry and plays. Much of the material is borrowed from public domain writings by William Carlos Williams, Yeats, and many others. There are 14 quoted works - see how many you can recognize!

So all the text predates 1923?
Nearly. Other than my own original words, of particular interest is the only post-1923 author I quoted. I received kind permission on behalf of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, to set his beautiful poem "Night in Kalapa" to music, which became the dramatic centerpiece of my opera.
You can read this and many other fine poems in Snow Lion's Delight (2005), available from Shambhala Media.

How many people are in the opera?
There are 5 singing roles.

What's the orchestration?
It's scored for flute, classical guitar, cello, and 3 singing bowls. Yep, no piano! That's been a fun challenge to write. A singing bowl is a bowl-shaped gong, often used in meditation. They originate in the Himalayas and are "sung" by rubbing a stick around the rim or struck like a gong. Check out Himalayan Bowls for more information.

Who was H. P. Lovecraft anyway?
He's an early writer of science fiction, which was then called "weird fiction." He wrote from about 1900 until 1935. He is most well-known for his creation of detailed, fantastical, terrifying worlds and creatures, typified by the Cthulhu Mythos (named after one of his mythical creations). For some great info and writing samples, visit the H.P. Lovecraft Archive. There's also a long Wiki page about him.

So is your opera really depressing and about death?
Those are two different questions, and no. It centers on one man's death, but is not meant to be depressing. Unlike many fan fiction writers and death metal bands, I found less resonance in Lovecraft's obsession with terror and the macabre than in his richly developed world-creations and his effective storytelling.