The Wonderful Witch Of Oz
The Wonderful Witch Of OzOpera duration: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Touring version: 45-50 minutes.
Concert version: 50 minutes or less.
Erutan Smith: Speaker
Natura Witchly: mezzo soprano
Cheerleader 1: speaker
Cheerleader 2: speaker
Cheerleader 3: speaker
Cheerleader 4: speaker
Freddy: tenor
Fredena: soprano
Willow Tree: baritone
Bubble: soprano
Windy: bass
Pablinda: mezzo soprano
Blue Jay: tenor
Jaybird 1: soprano
Jaybird 2: soprano
Jaybird 3: alto
Rooster: trumpeter (may be self taught)
Ill Eagle: baritone
Six Sick Birds: speakers (may be audience members)
Four Male Statues: speakers
Joe Camel: speaker
Stagehand: backstage person
Sets: (One set may be used with variations.)
The first set should depict the trees in the forest.
The second set should depict a clearing where the human food shed stands.
The third set should depict a place where the home of the witch is located.
The fourth set should depict an office for Erutan Smith.
The fifth set should depict the garden outside the house of the witch.
WWW address: http://mustec.bgsu.edu/~wallace
E-mail address: wallace@bgnet.bgsu.edu
There is a cassett recording of several of the opera songs available for perusal. The musical score (libretto included therein) is available through Wallace De Pue.
Erutan Smith introduces himself to begin the story and to act as a representative for progress. E-R-U-T-A-N is "Nature," spelled backwards. He is aware that this story is about nature and is afraid that if the story is too successful, progress and the business world might be threatened.
Freddy and his sister, Fredena, have moved to a new home in the country. When they go out to explore their new neighborhood, they are surprised to find that the creatures of nature are terrified. A willow tree tells them of a monster who breaks tree branches, tramples little saplings and peels off tree bark just for fun. The willow has never seen him, but says that a witch who lives near the town of Oz has his picture. The tree's story makes the children so angry that they resolve to find and subdue the monster.
Freddy and Fredena find a small pond and prepare to quench their thirst. As they draw near, a bubble in the pond warns them not to drink because a monster has poisoned the water and has thrown filthy items, and bottles containing chemicals into it. The bubble assures the children that the monster is quite near and that a local witch has the culprit's picture. The children promise the bubble that they will hunt down the nasty monster who has robbed them of their privilege to drink fresh water from the pond.
As Freddy and Fredena renew their search, a peculiar wind begins to blow dirt and dust all over the place. Out of frustration, they complain about the wind because they have begun to cough and sneeze. They are amazed to hear the wind reply to what they say. They find it incredible to learn that, because of smog, the wind has lost track of which direction to blow! The children tell him of an awful monster who is probably responsible for polluting the atmosphere with smoke and fumes. The wind becomes angry because the monster may have damaged the ozone layer that protects Earth from the sun's rays. The wind doesn't remember ever having blown over the witch's house, so he cannot provide the children with directions to her home. He is unable to take a holiday and join in the search for the monster because terrible things might occur on the planet during his absence. The children make a strong commitment to the wind. They promise to seek out and capture the terrible monster who has contaminated the air that people breathe.
Freddy and Fredena encounter a parrot who leads them to a place where there are several birds being tended by an old eagle. All of the birds are languishing, apparently ill. The children inquire as to why the birds are not flying, as birds should, and why they are all just lying around. The birds do not know what is going wrong. Freddy and Fredena tell them of a monster who has poisoned fish and plants that birds eat, and furthermore, that the fiend has even trapped some birds with crude oil so they could not fly after landing on water. The eagle tells the children that produce from the ground is so toxic that some birds and animals who eat it grow sick and die. Upon hearing this, the children are furious; they rededicate themselves to doing away with the monster. Since the birds were usually high in the air when the monster struck, they had never observed him at work. Still, they know he could not be too far away. They also know of the witch who has his picture. Their bird's-eye-view of the land enables them to reveal the exact location of her house.
With a squadron of birds guiding them, the children find the witch's lair. There are large stone sculptures in her yard. Freddy and Fredena watch from a hiding place as she works, hammer and chisel in hand, on some of her statues. Fredena continues to hide but Freddy approaches cautiously and calls: "Miss Witch!... Miss Witch!" Until Freddy met "Miss Witch," he believed that witches were fierce and ugly. To his utter delight, the witch is a jolly, effervescent woman who is friendly and ready to help when Freddy asks to see a picture of the monster. Even though she agrees to let him see it, there is a condition: he must promise to work with her toward the monster's complete demise, and be under her command in case a united effort is needed to stop the creature. Freddy agrees, enthusiastically. The witch leads him to a huge picture frame completely covered by a cloth. She asks him to confirm his promise to arrest the monster. Freddy renews his vow and then the witch withdraws the cloth. Instead of a picture, Freddy sees the image of himself in a mirror! He, and his kind, represent the monster who torments all living things!
The witch is charming; so even though Freddy is puzzled, he complies with her request to assume a number of peculiar poses. When he questions why he is posing, she tells him that he has to make good his promise and work with her toward the total demise of the image in the mirror, the monster. She states that, since she intends to cast a spell that will turn him to stone, she wants a special pose to distinguish him from the other statues she has in her yard. Just as the witch raises her wand to create a "new Freddy," Fredena, who has been listening to everything from her hiding place, reveals herself and pleads for her brother to remain unchanged. She explains to the witch that he, too, wants to stop pollution. That, in itself, should prove that all humans are not monsters. Although it makes reasonable sense to the witch, she decides to execute both Freddy and Fredena, anyway, just to make sure that they are not monsters in disguise. As the witch slowly raises her wand to immobilize Freddy, his sister reveals, quite by chance, that she knows Erutan Smith. The witch is very interested in the whereabouts of Erutan Smith and promises to let Freddy go if the children can help her to capture him. Freddy and Fredena are told that, as long as Smith is around to lead the monsters in their attacks, she will respond in kind, and plague all human beings with insects, blizzards, tornadoes, tidal waves and earthquakes. Because of the witch's resolve, the children promise to deliver Erutan Smith to her by trickery. They assure the witch to consider it done.
Erutan Smith receives a free photography coupon in the mail. He is most interested in meeting the strange lady whose likeness appears on the coupon. He recalls how she had gone out of her way to take his picture during lectures that he had delivered regarding progress. Thinking that she must be a dedicated fan of his, Erutan Smith makes an appointment. Easy to follow directions are drawn on the coupon.
On the day when Erutan is supposed to have his appointment for a portrait of himself, the children and the witch have all of their forces ready to capture him. The trees lie in wait ready to snag him if he tries to escape through the forest; the river's water is running high and fast, in case he tries to cross it; the wind is howling and threatening a tornado; and the birds are ready to attack him from the air if he tries to leave. The witch charms Erutan into allowing her to do his likeness in stone. He is delighted with the prospect and succumbs to her suggestion to pose among the statues in her yard. He revels in the attention, and assumes a number of trial poses before the witch suspends him with her magic wand. All of the creatures Erutan has tortured reveal themselves and are on hand when he faces his solemn demise as the witch speaks the final word, "abracadabra."