The Eagle has Landed
by Anthony Ritchie, a mini chamber opera, Opus 77
A humorous and quirky mini opera in which Armstrong and Aldrin find they are not the first to step on the moon. Fast moving and thought-provoking.
- YEAR: 1996
- DURATION: 15'00
- LIBRETTO: Stuart Hoar
- COMMISSIONED BY:Pocket Opera
- INSTRUMENTATION: mini chamber opera for 5 singers (soprano, mezzo, 2 tenors, baritones) string quartet and piano
- LEVEL: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians.
Watch the CubaDupa / NZ Opera street performance of The Eagle has Landed
Programme Note
A Chamber Opera in One Act
Commissioned by The Pocket Opera with financial assistance from Creative New Zealand
Based on the first Moon landing, 1969, and Jules Vernes From the Earth to the Moon
Characters:
Neil Armstrong, astronaut - baritone
Buzz Aldrin, astronaut - tenor
Impey Barbicane, 19th century character - soprano
Michael Ardan, 19th century character - mezzo soprano
Captain Nicholl, 19th century character - tenor
"Stuart Hoar's libretto for this entertaining romp brought together Apollo astronauts and moon-stranded fictional characters from Jules Verne, while Ritchie's tuneful score gleefully quoted Tchaikovsky and patriotic Americana to underline (and undermine) the action." Alan Wells reviewing in The Listener