Inanna: An Opera of Ancient Sumer
John Craton
About this work: An opera in three acts for vocalists, dancers, and full orchestra based on the Inanna poems of ancient Sumer and dedicated to the memory of the late Dutch composer Ton de Leeuw. Music and libretto by John Craton. More detailed information can be found at the opera website at
www.craton.net/inanna. Excerpts from the opera are presented below or mp3s of the Sibelius playback can be found
here. Additional orchestral excerpts may be seen under
Inanna Orchestral Suite. The online score still needs some tidying up, but a fully readable review score (piano score or full score) is available on request.
Year composed: 2003
Duration: 02:50:80
Ensemble type: Opera/Theater:Opera, More than One Act, with Chorus
Instrumentation: 2 Flute, 1 Alto Flute, 1 Oboe, 1 English Horn, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 2 Horn in F, 1 Cornet, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 1 Percussion (General), 1 Marimba, 1 Vibraphone, 1 Harpsichord, 1 Strings (General), ,1 Violin soloist(s), 1 Harp, ,1 Soprano soloist(s), ,1 Mezzo-Soprano soloist(s), ,2 Alto soloist(s), ,1 Countertenor soloist(s), ,4 Tenor soloist(s), ,1 Baritone soloist(s), 1 S, 1 A, 1 T, 1 B
Instrumentation notes: 2111 2001 enghrn cornet hrpschrd tmp perc hrmb vib hrp str. Female chorus of 9-12 voices (SA), male chorus of 6 voices (TB); 1 male and 2 female dancers (non-singing roles); additional percussion: bass drum, snare drum, bongo, woodblocks, slapstick, cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, tubular bells, gong. (NOTE: If listening to the Scorch file through the computer, it may be necessary to adjust the tempo bar as Scorch sometimes fails to recognize metronome markings.)