St. Dymphna, a chamber opera in two acts

grantor: University of TorontoThis is a chamber opera in two acts for five singer/actors, five instrumentalists, and electro-acoustic segments pre-recorded on a compact disc. The duration of the work is 140 minutes. St. Dymphna (ca. 7th century) is the patron saint of the insane and excessively nervous. Accounts of her life and martyrdom, along with the miracles and healings from mental illness attributed to her were first documented in the 11th century in the Belgian town of Gheel, the site of her martyrdom, and the centre of her cult, which became very popular in the late middle ages. A list of the source materials is included here. The narrative of this opera works on two levels. In act I, the story of St. Dymphna is told along conventional lines, beginning with her childhood, moving through the death of her mother, her father's attempt to seduce and marry her, and her flight with the Jester and Gerebern from her father's Irish kingdom. This linear narrative is interspersed with vignettes of madness and medical doctors. The musical characterizations are less conventional, relying more on cues. In act II the linear and non-linear narrative lines converge. The insane characters from act I begin interacting with the characters of the Dymphna story. The doctors' interventions are broader in scope, and more ruthless in nature, particularly as the King's insanity grows. In the final scene St. Dymphna subdues the doctor while her secure and affirming music draws the fragmented sounds of the mentally ill characters towards it, creating a kind of wounded unity out of disparate material.D.Mus