Tu-Two

The work presents everything with simplicity so that it can be understood by children; each episode is relatively short and simple, taking into account the concentration span of younger children. The choruses have some didactic content.

In Chorus 1, the singers play the vowels in order (a,e,i,o,u) between themselves, linked to the letter «t» (ta,te,ti,to,tu).

“Tu” is understood as a Portuguese word (I, you, … and he). After a brief aria without text, they decide to tell a story.

Scene 1 – Portuguese Story

(Soprano 1 plays the role of the girl; soprano 2 tells the story)
It is a story that naturally begins with the phrase, “Once upon a time…”
It is about a girl, Rosa, who is waking up.
She dances.
Then they start playing with the magic wand–a game that quickly goes mad…
… they decide to tell another story–but in English and swapping roles.

In Chorus 2, the singers again play the vowels in order (a,e,i,o,u) between themselves, linked to the letter “y” (ya,ye,yi,yo,yu).

“Yu” is understood as an English word (me, you… and him). After a brief aria without text, they decide to tell another story.

Scene 2 – English Story

(This time, soprano 2 plays the role of the girl; soprano 1 tells the story)
It is a story naturally beginning with the phrase, «Once upon a time…»
It is about a girl, Rosa, who is waking up.
She dances. But she falls and hurts herself. They return to using the Portuguese language.
She sings.
She explains that she actually didn’t hurt herself and was just playing.
The other one gets offended, and the two fight.

Soprano 1 challenges the other to imitate her singing in a canon.

Scene 3 – Canon: The two sing in canon.

There is a pun on the word “SOL” – musical note… and the Sun.
They both talk about putting cream on their skin so as not to get burned…

Conclusion: The two review what they have done and end up making the pun “Tu/Two”.

And, completely tired, they decide to sleep.