NOW BACK TO THE OPERA SERIA: PERICLES & XERXES.

 PERICLES & XERXES

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OPERA SERIA

IN

FOUR ACTS

SUNG 

in

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Ancient Greek

&

Ancient Persian

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with 

Early Musical Instruments

Aolean Flute

Lyre

added to

Baroque Instruments

Harpsichord, 

Theorbo, 

Archlute, 

Baroque Lute,

Viola di Gamba

Violins, Double Bass,

Flutes

Recorders, Kettle Drums

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All Male Boy's & Men's Choeus

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Music

Story 

True to Early Greek Life

&

Libretto

by

TZAIMS LUKSUS,FRSA

1980

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SYNOPSIS

Time of Opening

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1 April 480 BC

Athens

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Overture

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Act I, Scene I

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The Palestra Athens

Chorus of Naked Athletes

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Main Characters

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Pericles and Sophocles

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are both 

15 years old 

and 

best friends.

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Pericles's father, 

Xanthippus, 

is 

Stratiochos, 

leader of Athens, 

●

and 

Sophocles's father,

 Sophilus, 

is a creator 

of 

m

Military arms, 

helmets, shields, swords, bows and arrows, 

supplying the Athen's military 

under the 

command of 

Xanthsippus

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Socrates 

is 

10 years old

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Euclid of Megara

is

5 years old

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AGARISTA

Mother of Pericles

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Mother's name uknown so Tzaims names her

Harmonia

Mother 

of

 Sophocles

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Athena

Goddess of War

&

Protector 

of 

Soldiers & Sailors

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ZEUS

● 

POSEIDEN

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Xerxes

Son of

 Cyrus The Great 

of

 Persia

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is

19 years old

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Time of Birth

519 BC

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Spartans

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Immortals of Xerxes

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Chorus 

of

 Young Athenian Men

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Extra

Supernaries

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General Story Line

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Pericles and Sophocles are exercizing in gymnasium and afterward bathing, laughing and playing games with one another joyfully.

They go into the Agora and look over new thing to by, being wealthy and enjoying the peaceful beautiful ancient city of Athens.  They go to the home of Pericles to dine at noon, finding Pericles'  mother, Agarista and Harmonia, looking worried and not happy.

Pericles asks her what is wrong and she points to the courtyard where his father and Sothipus are engaged in serious discussion.

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He and Sophocles do not disturb them but continue to have lunch in another dining court yard where musicians and dancers entertain them.

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Scene II

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Xannthippus & Spothus

in 

Courtyard discussion

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Word has come to Athens by Olympian Messenger

that Xerxes has successfull crossed the and headed for Thermoplae and Athens with 10 Thousand Immortals and the Persian Fleet is heading for 

SALAMIS

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They then meet with their commanders of the Athenian Army and Navy to prepare for the possible invasion of Attica.

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Further news arrives the Xerxes defeted the 200 Spartans at Thermopolae and were free to reach Athen in only a few days.

Xanthippus orders the evacuation of the city of Athens to the Island of Salamis.

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Despite successfully stopping Xerxes army he and his 10 thousand Immortals enter Athens.

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Xanthippus is successful in destroying Exexes' Fleet at Salamis.

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Actx II & III

Continue with war preparations by Xanthippus and domestic actjvity by Agarista in her domedtic preparations to leave the city for Salamis,

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Scenes of the 5 year old Euclid in Megara hearing the news from Athens vows to go there when he grows up.

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Socrates joins Periclese and Sophocles wanting to join the srmy but he is only ten years old so they tske him to help Agarista prepare to leave the c

●ity.

ow that Xexes is in Athens, his greatest desire is to go to the temple of Athena and destroy it whilst he orders his immortals to bunn the ancient city of Athens.

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All the young athenians ad just left the Temple of Athena praying for her protection as they chose to join the army and navy to defeat Xerxe's army and navy.

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 Pericles remains alone, hidden behind the golden statue of Athena as Exerxes enters and facing the Goddessm mocks and insults her wirh his dong of scatalogical words.

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Pericles, brave and bold in his finest uniform, with golden sword and shields come out of hiding standnin the full bright light od a raynof the sun shining on him and the golden statue of Athena, giving xerxes a shocking vision of Athena's reply. 

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Xerxes falls to his knees in submission, head bows as Pericles raises his swoard to cut off Xerxes' hed but the statue of Athena becomes alive and takes hold of the arm of Pericles holding back the thrust of his swordm saying, 

"No!" 

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then frozen silence

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"Do not defeat yourself by reducing yourself to the miserable mind of this miscreant.  His life and ambition has come to its end and in defeat will live out the misery of his criminal actions here now."

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Xerxes raises his head staring penitent gazing  at both the golden young man and his goddess protecting him and thanks both for sparing his life.

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Xerxes the turns and looking outside the burning temple of Athena and sees his fleet on fire at Salamas.

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Athens burns to the ground.

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He flees with his Immortals leaving Attica by lane in defeat.

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ACT 4

SCENE I

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ATHENS

Parthenon 

Finished 

in

BC  432

Propolaea

built and finished

 BC 432 - 436

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Continued art work on Parthenon 

until 

BC 436 - 436 

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Finale

After several scenes building new on the Acropolis with Euclid of Megara coming to Athens to study with Socrates

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After the support of 

ZEUS and POSEIDEN

defeating

Xerxes.

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Dedication of the Propalaea and the Parthenon, build by Pericles during the rebuilding of the city of Athens in white marble creating the

Golden Age of Athens 

during and under 

Stratiosis, 

Pericles' 

military government beginning the first democracy of Athens.

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Grand choral climax by entire cast on The Acropolis.

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Fin

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Greek History 

for 

BC 480

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History of My Research 

for this period of history 

of 

Athens 

and the 

Battles of Thermoplae 

and 

Salamis.

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But who was who and how old were they?

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Perhaps because I was born in the United States of Anerica and not in Great Britain, I was never educated to know much about anythibg outside tbe USA, sibce American education glossed over especially ancient history and Classical Greek and Classical Latin wasn't offered for study as if was in schools and Oxfoed as were British school boys.

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So all I knew of Athenian history was limited to modern Greece.

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I only decided in about 1980 to delve seriously into early Greed history expecupially when Xerxes invadespd Athens, Who was who and how old were they?

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To my amazement Pericles was 15 years olld as was Sophocles and Socrates was only 10 years old.

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I decided to further research all I could concerning this great period and the Greek youth and their lives.

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So to tell this amaxing stody I created my own visionbthrough the eyes of the 15 year old Peticles deciding what I would do were I him at that time.

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I literally lived his life and created this story.

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I began  composing music for this opera but wasn't satisfied with much of whaf I came up with so I had to bend into a different arrangement and limited notes and more minor notes, which led me into the depths of ancient aolian Greek heroic music.  I could nor just copy songs but I could add aolian and early Greek rythums to my princicle themes.

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Yben I had to know ancient Persian music so I could add mux

sjc toXerxes, militaty but also for scenes in Persepolis in Persia.  

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I decided the libretto be sung in borh classical Greek and Persian languages.

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In olera, seria opera, Which I decided to make the opera as a Baroque Seria form more suitable for this story than it would be for a Mercadante opera, so wording woul be simpld, repetitive as in Purcell's opera King Arthur and the opera Faerie Queen.

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Most of my original scores were recorded and transferred to my Mackintosh moniter through a song writing software program

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That Mac has been stolen so I have to begin again by memory of all of my arias and music, but now I want to creats a mkre mysterious, Eric Sati, kind of esoteric score, not copuing Sati, but going more deeply into the zncient language music with new concepts for opera seria, rather like neo-Baroque.

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To do this J need something other than a granf concert piano or even an e,ectric piano.

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I need a Synthocizer and now in Rangoon, with beib

ng cht off from western governments, what could I find locally.

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Well no lroblem.  Rangoon has even mor available than the US.

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I decided on a professional Yamaha S235 but after trying one I didn't like the selections of sounds.  No harp, harpsichord, viola di gamba, Lute or theorbo, just mostlt electronic sounds so I went to a Rangoon specialist for Roland DS88.

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Wow!

If I say so myself.

Sounds like a finest Steinway 9 foot concert piano and an Imperial Bosendorfer Concert

Grand piano with thousands of instrument sohnds to create the perfect neo-Baroque seria opera as I visualize it.  Not only are these sounds available for a classical ancient musical orchestra but sounds can be added.  I need a Theorbo, Baroque Lute, a Persian Oud, and Archlute.

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No problem, 

I can add them.

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So now!

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The Opera 

PERICLES & XERXES

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