Sirius on Earth is a chamber opera that deals satirically with social and political issues that are pertinent to a Western multicultural urban setting. Angela Murphy wrote the libretto, which is based on an original dramatic scenario conceived of by the composer. This dissertation consists of two parts: the opera in full score and an analysis of the opera. Sirius on Earth is scored for a cast of eight singers and an ensemble of fifteen players. The analysis is related to the overall objectives of the work which include representing and satirizing the musical and cultural diversity inherent in multicultural Western cities, symbolized in the opera by the city of Sirius, through the composer's individual approach to musical pluralism. Important musical and dramatic features of the opera are discussed in the analysis, including modal organization, musical characterization and techniques of recontextualization such as allusion and parody. Conclusions dissect the opera's underlying satirical and dystopian viewpoint.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.84688 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Frehner, Paul (Paul Anton) |
| Contributors | Bouliane, Denys (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Music (Faculty of Music.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002150585, proquestno: AAINQ98503, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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