Anthony Bailey - Composer

'Anthony Bailey's natural gifts and promise as a composer, so clearly evident in his teens, are now crystallised in his most ambitious work to date, an opera that is the product of long reflection and careful testing of its possibilities. Prolific in his output during the last decade or so, he has acquired a great deal of practical experience and a sureness of touch that betoken a fast-maturing creative talent. A first opera is often a turning-point in the career of a young composer and this one holds the prospect both of great intrinsic interest and of further compositional adventures in the future.'

Meirion Bowen - Biographer and friend of Sir Michael Tippett

Anthony Bailey studied at the Royal College of Music with Colin Bradbury (clarinet) and Timothy Salter (composition), graduating with a first class BMus(Hons) degree in 1999 and an MMus in 2001. Whilst at the RCM, he was awarded several prizes for both composition and clarinet, including the Horovitz prize (for orchestral composition), the Manilow prize, the Cruft prize (for chamber composition), the Farrar Prize (for vocal composition) and an award from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Anthony's compositions, which range from orchestral music to solo works and chamber music, have been performed in major venues throughout the UK, Europe and America. He has received numerous commissions and several of his works have been broadcast on national radio, whilst others have been published by Harlequin Music.

As a clarinettist Anthony has worked with the English National Opera Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Britten Pears Orchestra and has also performed solo concerti by Mozart, Finzi and Weber. Anthony is a member of the Chinook Clarinet Quartet with whom he regularly performs at prestigious venues throughout the UK, including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and the Bridgwater Hall. Chinook often perform Anthony's compositions and their two CDs capture the quartets diverse style.

Reviews of William Tell, a community opera project in collaboration with the Jonas Foundation Music School:

' A most worthwhile project, successfully carried out, this is what the fringe is all about.'

Edinburghguide.com

‘…..including sections written by the young people themselves.….with an absolute minimum of props and costumes and with no scenery, these young performers managed to create an atmosphere and convey the message about what democracy, freedom and respect mean to them.….a marvellous achievement.’

Charlie Napier – The Scotsman

Synopsis

The Black Monk

An opera after ‘The Black Monk’
by Anton Chekhov

History
A man, exhausted through overwork, travels to the country to rest and recuperate. He decides to visit the place where he grew up, where his guardian (a famous horticulturist) and his daughter still live in a grand house with a large garden. The father and his daughter are delighted to see the man after so many years, and welcome him back to his former home.

Prelude
An apparition of a tall figure dressed in a hooded robe appears to the man as he watches in confusion. After the apparition disappears, the man dances excitedly and wonders whether he is dreaming.

Scene 1
The father and the man are in the garden. Aside and unknown to them, the daughter is also present. The father is very proud of his garden, but is despairing of what will happen to it upon his death, especially if his daughter were to marry. He tells the astonished man that he would only be content if the man married his daughter, as he trusts the man alone to protect his life’s work.

Interlude
The father and his daughter have an argument.

Scene 2
After the argument, the daughter is very upset. The man tries to comfort her, embracing her, telling her how much she has grown in beauty since his last visit. She gradually calms down and the two begin to kiss affectionately. Eventually she realises the futility of the argument and goes to make peace with her father. The man acknowledges to himself that the girl touches his heart with her pitiable temperament, but reminds himself of his first priority, his work.

Interlude
The apparition of the Black Monk appears again to the man. This time the man moves closer to examine it.

Scene 3
The man and the monk discuss the concepts of Eternal Truth and Life, whilst the man worries about his own state of mind. The monk replies “Genius is close to madness. Only the mediocre are healthy and normal.” Reassured, the man reflects on his pride in being one of the chosen great men.

Scene 4
The daughter has been looking for the man, and upon finding him, the man tells her of the wondrous nature of his experience, but does not reveal anything specific. He then excitedly proposes marriage to her, saying he cannot live without her. Although it is the fulfilment of a long held dream for her, she feels unworthy and inferior to the intelligent man, who is jubilant with pride. However, her father is delighted that the man he regards as a son will marry his daughter.

Interlude
Time passes during which the lovers marry and begin their new life together.

Scene 5
It is late at night. The lovers are in bed, but the man cannot sleep. The monk again appears to him and they talk of the man’s concern about his unwavering happiness and joy. Meanwhile his wife wakes up, confused and frightened to see her husband talking to an empty chair. She is very distressed, and he unwillingly admits his illness.

Scene 6
The lovers’ relationship has deteriorated. The man, although restored to health, feels bored and frustrated, believing that when he was ill, at least he was interesting and cheerful. He compares himself to other great minds, upset at his genius being ruined by the cure of what he regards as a harmless disease. His wife is bitter and despondent, bemoaning the change in both her husband and her father, and their relationship. She tries to comfort the man but finally, in despair, he leaves her.

Interlude
The man walks alone, drained and exhausted, whilst his ex-lover is wracked with emotional pain. Then the apparition reappears behind the man, as yet unseen.

Scene 7
Some years later the man receives a letter from his estranged wife. He is stricken by thoughts of his treatment of her and her father. When he opens the letter he discovers that his former guardian has died; the daughter blames him, writing that she hopes death will soon overcome him too. In the wake of this news the monk appears again, reproaching the man for his lack of self-belief, before inviting him to join him in death. The man collapses and after his death an indistinct figure is seen merging with the apparition of the monk.

 

 

The Black Monk Project, the world premiere of Anthony Bailey’s new chamber opera, marked the beginning of an exciting new direction for the Sirius Ensemble. The opera, based on the short story by Anton Chekhov, was written especially for the ensemble and formed the centrepiece of the year's work.

The new production, directed by Steven Stead and designed by Stuart Nunn, was premiered in association with the Bloomsbury Theatre in October 2003.

Project History

In Spring 2000 Anthony began to look for an appropriate story to shape into a libretto for an opera and soon turned to the short stories of the famous playwright Anton Chekhov.

The account of The Black Monk is dramatic and mysterious, making it ideal for operatic presentation. The tale revolves around an overworked scholar who begins to suffer from hallucinations; confusing reality and his imagination. He marries in a misguided attempt to alleviate his feelings of isolation, but his new wife, when confronted with his fragile mental state, attempts to restore him to health by enforcing rest from his precious work. The scholar finds the loss of his work intolerable, finally forcing a choice between his wife and his true love of work, a decision that ultimately leads to his downfall.

The opera questions the fine line between inspiration, genius and madness, demonstrating the power of the arts to express life beyond words.

Anthony undertook thorough research to ensure his work reflected the history and artistic concepts of the original story. Chekhov’s remarkable descriptive powers illustrate the story with dramatic detail, an ideal that Anthony has incorporated in developing the opera. For example, in the story, Chekhov describes a ‘salon piece’, The Angel’s Serenade by the Italian Gaetano Braga; a melody that Anthony has researched and included in his score. Other passing references, for example to Strauss’s opera Electra and more generalised musical styles such as Jazz, have also been drawn upon and woven into the fabric of the instrumental and vocal scores.

At the time of his death, Shostakovich had made significant progress in the composition of an opera based on Chekhov’s Black Monk, although it was never completed. Shostakovich suggested that the music of his 15th Symphony could be understood through familiarity with the story of The Black Monk. Anthony’s composition is sometimes reminiscent of Shostakovich’s sound world, a reminder that the story’s background is one of intense historical, cultural and social contexts. Shostakovich also arranged the serenade by Braga for soprano, mezzo soprano, violin and piano; the manuscript of this arrangement, Op. 141, is held in the Moscow Conservatoire’s closed vaults, and holds valuable insight into Shostakovich’s view of the Chekhov story.

The opera contains four character roles: Man (Baritone), the Daughter, the man’s wife (Soprano), her Father (Bass Baritone) and the Monk (Baritone). The characters are nameless, functioning under the designations of their existence; the work is intended to reflect life - real life. In accompaniment, the chamber ensemble creates the musical scenes through which the tragic story of the protagonists unfolds. A full synopsis of the opera is available on this webpage.