CALIFORNIA MYSTERY PARK OPERA - CARSON KIEVMAN
Soundtheater (Opera)

Music, Libretto, & Set Design
by
Carson Kievman

Additional Material:
"Suicide"
by
Edna St. Vincent Millay

from COLLECTED POEMS, Harper & Row. Copyright 1917, 1945
(Adapted by permission of The Millay Estate)
&
"Alice's Restaurant Training Manual"
(Adapted by permission of Alice Brock)

Hear a reading of Imaginary Interview with live singers with midi -- MP3


NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW:
Saturday April 24, 1993 / Alex Ross, critic
"American Operas in Progress" "California Mystery Park," finally is an ambitious drama detailing domestic crisis and inter-racial tensions in Postwar America. The central characters are a World War II veteran and his estranged Japanese daughter; in the two scenes presented Wednesday, the drama took place mostly over the phone, with mean-spirited relatives joining in as a chorus. Mr. Kievman, perhaps influenced by Robert Ashley delights in multilayered textures in which as many as a dozen people (among them Ron Raines, Diane Kesling and the mellifluous Stephanie Park) recite and sing simultaneously. The plot is overloaded, but Mr. Kievman demonstrated considerable virtuosity in shepherding disparate elements together. If the primary emotional themes could be kept distinct this opera might have a powerful effect."
Writing about a workshop of two scenes from "California Mystery Park" presented by American Opera Projects, NYC.

OVERTURE (Orchestra & Chorus)
PROLOGUE "Birth Patrol"
PRELUDE "Letters between an estranged father and daughter"

ACT ONE "California here I come"

1. REALITY 1 "55 finds a family in Hollywood"
2. DREAMSTATION 1 "In the heat of the landscape. An indictment of the European conspiracy to deprive the colonies of an indigenous classic culture through the 20th century, with the covert assistance of the American establishment and it’s media. The family watches TV."
3. FANTASY 1 "Objects of persuasion"
4. DREAMSTATION 2 "Community collusion. Slavery in the new west"
5. REALITY 2 "An imaginary interview" - hear a reading of Imaginary Interview with live singers with midi -- MP3

ACT TWO "Renaissance"

1. FANTASY 2 "Gone fishing"
2. DREAMSTATION 3 "Beauty and the beast"
3. REALITY/FANTASY 3 "Poppa’s drama – Family survival"

AN INTRODUCTION

CALIFORNIA MYSTERY PARK explores with humor and spectacle the impact of modern life on the American family. The opera concerns itself with the relationship between a World War II Veteran (named 55) and his estranged Japanese daughter (Girl & Older Girl). Addictive relationships between other family members are explored, addictions which stand-in for true loving, or even mutual regard. We see the development of a scapegoat (the estranged daughter) as a means to family unity. 55 lives totally immersed in a fantasy world, created by his vivid imagination. 55 travels between different states of consciousness---from "Realities"----through the transparent tubes called "Dreamstations"---and into "Fantasies" which he spontaneously creates. Ironically, It is only in these "Fantasies" that Father is actually able to look at, and deal with, reality, to confront his own past and his family’s turmoil. The simultaneous use of one thing and it’s opposite are in constant employment throughout this opera. At times the singing is purely musical and yet, through simultaneous action/movement & mechanical staging, the drama is consistently put forth. At times some of the musicians actually perform on-stage, either in auxiliary roles, or in associative extensions of the musician as "music-maker." In CALIFORNIA MYSTERY PARK singing is utilized to delineate character, to further the drama, to elevate language, and to participate with the instrumentalists in coloring and shaping the musical form.

CAST

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS

55 (40-50 Baritone) / An American Soldier…family man.
OLDER GIRL (20-26 Dramatic soprano) / 55’s daughter (from first marriage) / ½ Japanese – ½
GIRL (6-10 High soprano) A younger version of "Older Girl"
STEPMOTHER (40-50 Mezzo soprano) 55’s wife (his second)

SUPPORTING PLAYERS

MOTHER/AUNT (18-25 Alto) 55’s first wife / Japanese (wears a mask) / (35-40) / Mother without a mask)
GRANDFATHER (60-80 Bass) / 55’s father
STEPSISTER 1 (26-35 Coloratura soprano) / 55’s daughter (from 2nd marriage)
STEPSISTER 2 (24-38 Lyric soprano) / 55’s daughter (from 2nd marriage)
STEPSISTER 3 (22-33 Lyric soprano) / 55’s daughter (from 2nd marriage)
STEPBROTHER (21-28 Dramatic tenor) / 55’s son (from 2nd marriage)
UNCLE (40-55 Baritone) / Stepmother’s brother
COUSIN (18-28 Lyric tenor) / Son of Uncle & Aunt

EXTRA PLAYERS: (Chorus optional)

55’s LOOK-A-LIKE #1 (Bass/baritone) / Wears a Playtex mask of 55
55’s LOOK-A-LIKE #2 & #3 (Non-singing roles) / Wear Playtex masks of 55

INSTRUMENTATION:

ORCHESTRA

Some members of the orchestra play auxiliary roles (unless chorus extras available).

Stage characters include Waiters, Waitresses, Lords & Ladies, etc.

Percussionists portray Tour Guides (barkers)

1 flute (piccolo), oboe, 2 Bb clarinet (bass cl), Bassoon (contra).
1 horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba.
1 harp (amplified).
4 percussion (ensemble)
1 keyboards (piano/harpsichord-amplified).
1 electric guitar (can be substituted with violin solo-amplified, if necessary).
Strings

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