THE SKIN DRUM
(1987 rev. 1988)
Dance opera in 1 act - 40'
Libretto by Mark Morris
Commissioned by the Banff Music Theatre Studio Ensemble
A girl is expelled from her Inuit tribe for being disruptive and arrogant. She undergoes great hardship in the Northern wastes, and finds generosity and compassion at the hands of an elderly huntsman.
Susan Chilcott in the premiere of The Skin Drum
Premiere: 18 February 1988: Margaret Greenham Theatre, The Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada
Director: Mark Morris
Designer: Catherine Handfield
Conductor: Julian Grant
Revised version - Premiere: 15 February 1990: Lilian Baylis Theatre, Sadler's Wells, London WC2
Director/Choreographer: Clare West
Designer:
Lighting:
Conductor: David Parry
CAST
Susan Chilcott, Christian Fletcher, Banff Studio Ensemble (original)
Susan Chilcott, Mike Henry, Contemporary Opera Studio, English National Opera (revised)
Girl - soprano
Old Man/Young Man - tenor
Polar Bears 1 & 2 - tenor and baritone
Villagers, Ravens - 2 tenors, 2 baritones, bass
Stag - dancer
Flute (+ piccolo), clarinet in Bb (+ bass cl), horn in F, trumpet in Bb, percussion (2 players), piano (4 hands), 'cello, bass