Tibetan Book of the Dead

Music by: Ricky Ian Gordon

Libretto by: Jean-Claude Van Itallie

Duration: 95 minutes

Originally Commissioned: Houston Grand Opera and The American Music Theatre Festival 1995.

Premiered: Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2014

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Project Statement

Based on the ancient Buddhist text of the same name and written for the composer's partner Jeffrey Michael Grossi in 1996 as he was dying of AIDS, The Tibetan Book of the Dead intends to lead us through the stages we experience after death and our transition into the next life; during the last years of Grossi’s life, Gordon read to him from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying as a way of aiding him in his journey. The opera is at once a ritual, an oratorio in 17 set numbers, a requiem, a warning, and a theatrically-staged wake. A meditation on loss and a reflection on death as a vital part of life, The Tibetan Book of the Dead offers valuable and unique lessons that abide with the listener long after hearing.

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FORCES

Singers:

 1 Soprano

2 Mezzo-Sopranos

2 Tenors

1 Baritone

1 Bass

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Orchestration:

 Fl.(dbl. Picc.) (flute)

Cl.(Dbl.B.CL) (clarinet)

Hn. (horn)

Tpt.;

3Perc.

Pno. (Piano)

Hp. (harp)

Vln. (violin)

Vcl.

Cb.

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Reviews

A succinct one-act piece. . .Gordon has written tuneful things that range through blues and gentle rock, cowboy rhythms and pop. The final chord-unresolved-provides a glimpse of eternity-one of the memorable things in this score. –Daniel Webster

“Ricky Ian Gordon is best known as a composer of songs that are singable in cabarets, on concert stages, just about anywhere. He treats words-weather by Emily Dickinson or Langston Hughes-with tender loving care, wit, and once in a while, sass, but I can’t remember a saccharine or maudlin tune from him. All of which made him the right man to make an opera out of Jean Claude Van Itallie’s 1983 ritual-play The Tibetan Book of the Dead or How Not To Do It Again. Gordon, who used a composer’s prerogative and raised the ante of the subtitle by changing it to the more music evoking a liberation through hearing.It’s emotional Honesty and increasingly affecting score will win lots of admirers.

Gordon’s ease with tonal tunes and harmonies stood up nicely against his shrewdly placed spikes of dissonance.” - Leighton Kerner, The Village Voice

The Philadelphia Inquirer Paper Gordon could write glorious music to the telephone directory if he wanted to. . .the music soars, and we’re reminded of just how magnificent Gordon’s music can be. A major piece of new music. – Cary Mazer, Philadelphia City Paper

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MEDIA

Photos by Colin Howe, Nic Minetor, Jim Caldwell

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