Paul Bunyan (operetta)
| Paul Bunyan | |
|---|---|
| Operetta by Benjamin Britten | |
The composer in 1968
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| Librettist | W. H. Auden |
| Premiere | 5 May 1941 Columbia University |
Paul Bunyan, Op 17, is an operetta in two acts and a prologue composed by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by W. H. Auden, designed for performance by semi-professional groups. It premiered at Columbia University on 5 May 1941, to largely negative reviews, and was withdrawn by the composer. Britten revised it somewhat in 1976 and subsequently it had numerous performances and two commercial recordings. The story is based on the folkloric American lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, with the music incorporating a variety of American styles, including folk songs, blues and hymns. The work is strongly sectional in nature, highly reminiscent of the 'Broadway musical' style of the period.
In the forest
The old trees like life to be slow ("Since the birth Of the earth"), but are challenged by four young trees and three wild geese. The geese explain that the old trees will have to leave when a Man arrives: Paul Bunyan will be born at the next blue moon. To the horror of the old trees, the moon turns blue ("It isn't very often the conservatives are wrong").
First ballad interlude
The Narrator recounts the birth and growth of Paul, who gained 346 pounds every week, became as tall as the Empire State Building and had a stride of 3.7 miles ("The cold wind blew through the crooked thorn"). One night, he awoke to find that his forehead was being licked by Babe the Blue Cow. The two of them leave for the South, where Paul sets up a camp.
Scene 1: A clearing in the forest
Paul recruits lumberjacks from all over Europe ("My birthplace was in Sweden, it's a very long way off"). The Swedes quarrel over which of them should be foreman, but a Western Union Boy bicycles in with a telegram from the King of Sweden, whose recommended foreman, Hel Helson, arrives and is duly appointed by Paul. However, there is still a need for some cooks who can provide the lumberjacks with nutritious food. Bad cooks Sam and Ben, devotees (respectively) of soup and beans, arrive ("Sam for Soups, Ben for beans", a parody of campaigns): . Johnny Inkslinger, an impecunious book-keeper, also turns up, but wishes to be independent and refuses offers of soup, beans and recompense before travelling on. Paul predicts that, as Inkslinger has no resources, he will have to return. Sam and Ben recruit cats Moppet and Poppet, and the dog Fido, to aid them in their work ("The single creature lives a partial life").
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