Research and Creation of a new libretto for opera/oratorio

我认识到共生和对话的方法的重要性，这是一个由其合作框架驱动的项目。不过，在这里我将概述一些我可以贡献的初步想法。我的建议是一个城市在战时停电与中心人物是一个怀孕的母亲。其原因部分是叙事性和戏剧性的-标准价值观的颠倒-光明是安全的，黑暗是危险的，以及子宫内的孩子和城市内等待的公民的镜像。然而，这种背景也允许诗人和作曲家使用或抵制各种各样的歌曲，例如战时宣传歌曲（通常是胜利的主题，有趣的是与等待攻击的城镇不一致）和摇篮曲（已经有了平衡安全观念与危险意识的历史，可以进一步探索）。这个项目的实践基础元素直接与历史框架联系在一起。开始，我将发展我的理解选定的诗人，歌词（如W。Auden，Alice Goodman，大卫哈森特和唐帕特森）。这可以通过对选定作家的口述历史采访来增强，这些作家将专注于创作剧本的过程，以及他们认为与现有诗歌实践相比，这种方法的差异，以及他们认为诗歌和音乐之间的成功接触点。这将使我对剧本的创作有更深入的了解。这样，这项研究计划就需要进行详细的历史研究。理想情况下，与作曲家直接合作，这可以表现为一系列的档案访问和现场表演的双重出席。这些将用于创作新的歌曲和表演草图。这将是有趣的保持一个联合批判日志，图表和突出我们不断发展的互动，以监测进展和反思的关键思想.这项研究将最终在一个新的当代歌剧，利用了MMU和RNCM的典范伙伴关系加上独特的监督团队.虽然基于实践的协作输出将是提交的核心，但我将通过一系列书面和理论工作来增强这一点，这些工作将揭示特别是诗人可以为剧本形式带来的背景和过程。

I recognise the importance of a symbiotic and dialogic approach with this being a project that is driven by its collaborative framework. However, here I will outline some initial ideas I could contribute. My suggestion for a setting would be a city during a wartime blackout with the central character being a pregnant mother. The reasons for this are partly narrative and dramatic - the inversion of standard values - light being safety, darkness being danger, and the mirroring of the child inside the womb and the citizens waiting inside the city. However, this setting would also allow for a wide array of song varieties that could be used or resisted by the poet and composer, examples being wartime propaganda songs (the themes generally of victory interestingly at odds with a town awaiting assault), and lullabies (which do already have a history of balancing ideas of safety with an awareness of dangers which could be explored further). The practice-based element of this project ties in directly with the historical framework. To begin with, I will develop my understanding of selected poet-librettists (eg W.H. Auden, Alice Goodman, David Harsent and Don Paterson). This could be augmented by oral history interviews with chosen writers, which will focus on the process of creating a libretto and what they see as the differences in the approach compared to their existing poetry practices, and what they see as successful points of contact between poetry and music. This will give me an enhanced insight into the creation of libretto.This programme of research will then necessitate detailed, historical study. Ideally in direct collaboration with the composer, this could manifest as a series of archival visits and dual attendance at live performances. These will then be used in the creation of the new songs and performance sketches. It would be interesting to keep a joint critical journal, that charts and highlights our evolving interactions, in order to monitor progress and reflect on key ideas.This research will culminate in a new contemporary opera that has made use of the exemplary partnership of MMU and RNCM coupled with the unique supervisory team. While the collaborative practice-based output will be the centrepiece of the submission, I will augment this with a body of written and theoretical work which unpacks the context and process of what particularly poets can bring to the libretto form.