Librettist: Christopher Bochmann
Libretto based on Pedro O Cru by António Patrício
Chamber opera in seven scenes
Date: 2008
Language: Portuguese
Duration: 60 minutes
Small-scale
Pedro: baritone
Inês: ballet dancer
Chorus
Scene 1: Pedro searches for the abbess of the convent where Inês’s body is buried.
He speaks to the gravedigger to have Inês’s body exhumed.
Scene 2: Pedro reflects on Inês, above all the memories of her.
Scene 3: Pedro dreams of Inês’s coronation and her recognition as queen.
Scene 4: Dance. No text.
Inês (dancer) rises from her tomb. She dances, progressively removing layers of her burial shroud. The scene has seven moments (imitating in a way the dance of the seven veils of Salome).
Pedro begins by remembering Inês’s body (the sexual side); during the dance he begins to appreciate her soul (the spiritual side) more and more.
Scene 5: Inês’s body is taken to Coimbra. There is great confusion; the crowd shouts; people comment.
Scene 6: Inês’s body is to be buried in a new tomb. The choir sings the “De Profundis”.
Scene 7: Pedro reflects on the events. He reflects, dreaming of his Inês – her soul, her memory…
Fl | Ob | Sax | Bsn | Hn | Tpt | Tbn | Perc | Pf | Hp | 2 Vln | 2 Vla | 2 Vc | Cb
Publisher: Centro de Investigação & Informação da Música Portuguesa
Date: 2008
Venue: Salão Nobre of Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon
Commission: Orquestra Sinfónica Juvenil
Stage Director: Laureano Carreira
Music Director: Christopher Bochmann
Cast: Armando Possante, Sofia Inácio, Grupo Vocal Olisipo and Orquestra Sinfónica Juvenil
