Publication Date
2015-12-04
Availability
Open access
Embargo Period
2015-12-04
Degree Type
Doctoral Essay
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
Music Theory and Composition (Music)
Date of Defense
2015-11-05
First Committee Member
Dorothy Hindman
Second Committee Member
Charles Mason
Third Committee Member
Lansing McLoskey
Fourth Committee Member
Thomas Sleeper
Fifth Committee Member
Karen Henson
Abstract
The "Warrior's Wives" is a tragic opera in two acts that tells the stories of three women – Ikuku, Imiri, and Oku – married to the warrior, Ekpe. Inspired by Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", this tragedy allows the audience to gain three different perspectives on the shared narrative of the women. I have adapted the story into my own libretto, developing the wives through my own original stories. These stories serve the greater storyline of identity, destiny, and a person's ability to shape their fate through their actions. Through this, the project explores issues of duty, love, fear, motherhood, loyalty, oppression, and vengeance.
Keywords
opera; chamber opera; tragedy; destiny
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Matthew E., "The Warrior's Wives: a Tragic Opera in Two Acts with a Prologue" (2015). Open Access Dissertations. 1538.
https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/1538