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The Goth Chapters | STACY GARROP

STACY GARROP

a composer with a story to tell

a composer with a story to tell

The Goth Chapters


DETAILS
Running time: 15 minutes
Music by Stacy Garrop
Libretto and Original Story by Jerre Dye
Composed in 2007/2019

ORDERING PERFORMANCE MATERIALS
Theodore Presser Company
Click to view product page.

  • SYNOPSIS • TIME/PLACE • STORY
    SYNOPSIS
    Penelope, a 30-year old Goth woman moves through the exhilarating stages of a tempestuous love affair.


    TIME AND PLACE
    This original story takes place today, in the Penelope's house and on the city streets.

    STORY
    Our hero, Penelope, works in a comic book store. She was a total outcast in high school and found her escape inside Goth culture. She was a wild child. She loves all things Victoriana (with a decidedly dark twist). The comic book store is her sanctuary, now. Though she’s a little more set in her ways now, she still has trouble divorcing herself from her more wild and carefree youthful days. 

    In Chapter 1: Heedless/Headless, our hero has stepped outside the comic book store on an emergency coffee break. She has just met a dashing stranger while checking them out at her register. She paces excitedly while drinking a Kombucha and eating Red Vines. It’s late summer. It’s hot. She is invigorated by this chance encounter.

    One week passes.

    In Chapter 2: Bitten, Penelope has just walked into her house after another clandestine date with the stranger from the comic book store.. She might be a little tipsy. She carries a bundle of black roses. As she sings, she removes her coat and puts on her robe and fuzzy house slippers.

    One week passes.

    Chapter 3: Our Insides takes place in the morning. Penelope’s lover is asleep beneath the blanket next to her. She realizes for the first time that she is in way too deep. She knows that it must end. At the end she gets dressed and leaves for work.

    One week passes.

    In Chapter 4: Keepsake, our hero walks home from work. The scars of the break-up still linger. It’s getting dark. She wears an overcoat and a scarf. It’s cold, now.
  • CAST & INSTRUMENTATION
    CAST
    • PENELOPE (Mezzo-Soprano) - a 30-year old Goth woman

    INSTRUMENTATION
    Versions are available for:
    • violin, cello, piano
    • grand piano
  • VIDEO
    Chapter 1: Heedless/Headless
    Chapter 2: Bitten

    Chapter 3: Our Insides
    Chapter 4: Keepsake

    VIDEO
    Gothic Opera: Alice Usher, soprano and Laurence Panter, piano. Recordings were made and released during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.
  • HELIOS • 4’30” • 2 tpts/flugelhorns, hn, tbn, tba

    AUDIO
    Gaudete Brass Quintet

    YEAR COMPOSED
    2011

    COMMISSIONER
    Gaudete Brass Quintet

    ORDERING SCORES
    Theodore Presser Company
    https://www.presser.com/114-41587-helios.html

    PROGRAM NOTES
    In Greek mythology, Helios was the god of the sun. His head wreathed in light, he daily drove a chariot drawn by four horses (in some tales, the horses are winged; in others, they are made of fire) across the sky. At the end of each day’s journey, he slept in a golden boat that carried him on the Okeanos River (a fresh water stream that encircled the flat earth) back to his rising place. The cyclic journey of Helios is depicted in this short work for brass quintet. The first half is fast-paced and very energetic, while the second half is slow and serene, representing day and night.
    -S.G.