The Antient Concert

Based on an intriguing premise, this one act opera (or dramatic recital), images the novelist and poet James Joyce as a very young man, squaring off in a singing competition with the soon to be internationally renowned Irish singer John McCormick at the Antient Concert Rooms in Dublin in May of 1904. Joyce's mother, May and his then girl friend, later wife, Nora Barnacle observe and comment on the antics of the competing peacocks. The resulting fifty minute scene touches on the nature of the creative process, sex, death, national identity and artistic integrity. The punning libretto by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon is well matched by Daron Hagen's richly allusivescore which uses several well-known Irish songs of the period. Scored for string quartet (parts available on rental) or piano, this is a sophisticated piece designed to be performed by adept young singing actors.