Supplication
Stan Hoffman
About this work:
Supplication is a scene from a full-length sonic dance drama inspired by parallels between current events and the Mahabharata, the Indian epic of the bitter rivalry between two sets of cousins over control of the kingdom. The setting is sometime between the present and the future. The issue is not a politically defined kingdom but control over water, symoblic of life itself.
The Supplicant is the matron of a rural community whose water is about to be taken over by a large corporation. She goes to see the Executive in charge of the project, the son of the CEO, to plead for peace, for just enough water to enable her community to survive intact. Her request is refused. She then tells the Executive the secret of his origins: he is in fact her illegitimate son who has been raised by a powerful family who is now threatening the very existence of his blood relatives. He is deeply moved and struggles briefly, but is unable to yield. In a mixture of agony over her failure but triumph at her moral and emotional victory, the Supplicant leaves.
The Supplicant sings in an unknown language. Meaning and emotion are
conveyed through the voice, movement, sound.
Version: 2003
Year composed: 2003
Duration: 00:14:57
Ensemble type: Opera/Theater:Music Theater
Instrumentation: ,1 Contrabassoon soloist(s), ,1 Soprano soloist(s)
Instrumentation notes: 1 percussionist playing ting-sha (small Tibetan cymbals) and tubulon (small tubular chimes)