Composer, Writer & Broadcaster
Andrew Ford has composed five operas including the Green Room Award-winning Rembrandt’s Wife.
Please click work titles for more information and resources (audio, sheet music, program note etc.) about individual works in this category.
Text: Sue Smith (libretto)
Roles: Mrs Darling (soprano); Wendy (soprano); Peter Pan (mezzo/treble); Captain Hook (sprechstimme) Smaller roles: drawn from the chorus SSAA Chorus clarinet (=bass clar), violin, harp, percussion (one player), electronics
Commissioned by Kim Williams AM for Gondwana Choirs
Text: Sue Smith (libretto)
Roles: Saskia van Uylenburgh (soprano) Henrickje Stoffels (soprano) Geertje Dircx (mezzo-soprano) Govert Flinck (tenor) Rembrandt van Rijn (bass-baritone) Titus van Rijn (non-singing child) Five other small roles may all be taken by the tenor who sings Flinck N.B. Saskia and Hendrickje may be sung by the same soprano 1(=picc, alto fl)-0-1(=bass cl)-1(=contrabsn) / 1-0-0-0 / 1 perc / hp / 0-0-1-1-1
Commissioned by Victorian Opera
First performance by Victorian Opera; Gary Rowley (Rembrandt van Rijn), Jacqueline Porter (Saskia van Uylenburgh/Hendrickje Stoffels), Roxane Hislop (Geertje Dircx), Paul Biencourt (Govert Flinck/Torquiunius/Judge etc.), Richard Gill (conductor), Talya Masel (director), Adam Gardnir (designer) Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse, Melbourne, 18 April 2009
Text: Graham Devlin (libretto)
Principal roles: Rev. Henry Smallmind (largely spoken); Victoria Smallmind (largely spoken); Igjugarjuk (baritone). There are many other small roles (some of which may be doubled), which should be taken from a chorus of 20-40 singers.
On-stage instruments: 2-1-1-1 / 1-1-0-0 / 3 perc / 1-0-0-0-1
Off-stage string orchestra (or tape)
Commissioned by Sydney Grammar School
First performance by Students and Staff of Sydney Grammar School, Theodore Pikos, Susan Khouri (conductors), James Hannah (producer), Sydney Grammar School, 28 October 1988
Text: Sue Rowley and Jim Falk (libretto)
Principal roles: Piper (dancer); The Chairman (tenor); Jack (tenor); Joy, the Crane Chaser (soprano); Joy's Daughter (soprano); Fool (spoken). All roles except Piper and The Chairman may be taken by young (9-18 years) and/or inexperienced performers.
Chorus
2-0-2-0 / 0-2-0-0 / 4 recorders / elec guit / 1 perc / pno (4 hands) / strings / tape
(N.B. 1st trumpet, percussion and string section leaders should be professional or experienced players; other parts are relatively simple.)
Commissioned by the Australian Bicentennial Foundation
First performance by School of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong. Bill Paton (Piper), Gerald English (The Chairman), David Vance (conductor), Des Davis (producer), Richard Hook (designer); Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, 30 September 1988
Text: Graham Devlin (libretto)
Principal roles: Edgar Allan Poe (bass-baritone), Virginia Clemm (soprano), Elizabeth Poe (soprano), Rufus Griswold (bass), Frances Allan/Maria Clemm (mezzo-soprano), John Allan (baritone), other roles: S-Ms-A-T-Bar-B 2(=picc)-0-1(=bass cl)-0 / 1-2-2-0 / 1 perc / hp / pno(=cel) / elec org(=hpsd) / 0-0-0-2-1
First performance by the Australian Opera (National Opera Workshop): Garrick Jones (Poe), Keith Hempton (Griswold), Luise Napier (Virginia Clemm), Rosemary Gunn (Frances Allan/Maria Clemm), Bernadette Cullen, Nicola Ferner-Waite (Literary Ladies), Gregory Tomlinson, John Antoniou, Clifford Grant (Pressgang/Washington Senators), Gordon Kember (conductor), Brian FitzGerald and John Wregg (producers), Neil Tapner (designer), Broadwalk Studio, Sydney Opera House, 1 November 1985