Research and Creation of a new libretto for opera/oratorio

我认识到共生和对话方法的重要性，这是一个由合作框架驱动的项目。然而，在这里，我将概述一些我可以贡献的初步想法。我的建议是设定一个战时停电的城市，中心人物是一位怀孕的母亲。造成这种情况的部分原因是叙事性和戏剧性的——标准价值观的反转——光明代表安全，黑暗代表危险，反映了子宫里的孩子和城市里等待的市民。然而，这种设置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（主题通常是胜利，有趣的是与等待攻击的城镇不一致）和摇篮曲（已经有了平衡安全思想和危险意识的历史，可以进一步探索）。这个项目基于实践的元素直接与历史框架联系在一起。首先，我将发展我对选定的诗人作家的理解（如w·h·奥登，爱丽丝·古德曼，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加强，这将集中在创作剧本的过程，以及他们认为与他们现有的诗歌实践相比，这种方法的差异，以及他们认为诗歌和音乐之间成功的联系点。这将使我对创作剧本有更深入的了解。这一研究计划将需要详细的历史研究。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演出的双重出席。然后，这些将用于创作新歌和表演草图。保持一份共同的关键日志将是有趣的，它将图表和突出我们不断发展的相互作用，以便监测进展并反思关键思想。这项研究将在一部新的当代歌剧中达到高潮，这部歌剧利用了MMU和RNCM的典范合作伙伴关系以及独特的监督团队。虽然以合作实践为基础的产出将是提交的核心，但我将通过书面和理论工作来补充这一点，这些工作将揭示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.