Komachi at Sekidera
Alice Shields
About this work:
Komachi at Sekidera is an opera monologue in one act, based on a Japanese Noh play by Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443). The protagonist of the play, Ono no Komachi, was a woman of great literary gifts and beauty who lived at the Heian court in ninth- century Japan. She became a legend after her death. In my opera, Komachi has lived into old age, beyond her beauty and her literary fame, and has been forgotten. Confronted with age and mortality, she cries out for the days that are gone, and yet contemplates the bittersweet delight of still being alive. The structure of the piece was influenced by the dramatic monologues of Monteverdi’s operas. The modal character of the melody, which often returns to the unstable interval of the tritone, mirrors Komachi’s tenuous existential state, as does the alto flute, which shadows her feelings with sounds reminiscent of the shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute.
The text is in English. For the text, score and recording the work, please contact info@aliceshields.com.
Version: medium voice, alto flute & koto[or cello or vibraphone]
Year composed: 1999
Duration: 12:00:80
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Voice with Chamber/Jazz Ensemble, 2-5 Players
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: medium voice, alto flute, koto