The Jolly Roger
An opera for radio by
David Owen Norris
The musical extracts are taken from the premiere performance in Turner Sims, Southampton, on Monday 24th November 2008. The singers are Amanda Pitt, Mark Wilde & Thomas Guthrie, with the composer at the piano.
Persons of the action
| A cowardly Pirate Captain | tenor |
| Steans, an elderly Pirate | the same tenor |
| The Cabin-Boy | soprano |
| Mr. Thomas, rated Able-Bodied | baritone |
| The Master-at-Arms | busy down below |
| The Narrator | tutti |
| Parrot | |
| Chorus of Seagulls, Mermaids & Leviathan | |
| Corps de Ballet of Sharks |
Accompanied by piano
Duration about 50 minutes
Prologue: It is a curious story
Scene 1: The Tavern
Samba: Are we enough, dear boy?
Recitative: The old man there can keep a look-out
Scene 2: The Island
March: Pirates on a Treasure Hunt (with parrot obbligato)
Scene 3: The Remote Bermudas
Hymn: Where the remote Bermudas lie [Marvell]
A Sea Interlude
Scene 4: The Ship
Hornpipe: Anchor’s aweigh
Party-Piece: A-rovin’ [with contributions from Byron]
Party-Piece: The Pirate Joke (duet for one tenor)
Party-Piece: Shenandoah [with contributions from Macbeth]
Scene 5: The Plank
Recitative: Hands in the air!
Aria eroica: Spare my life, I beg
Trio minacciato: Shiver me timbers
Recitative: Where’s Steans?
Trio in stilo tedesco: Expend your lusts on me
Soliloquy in the form of a Three-Part Invention:
I could prance with glee [with contributions from Feste]
Stage Direction: The boy begins to walk towards his death
Boy, Seagulls, Mermaids & Leviathan: Hold on there, Captain
Waltz-Song on the Plank: Try, try again
Recitative: O Dead-Eye Dick?
Epilogue: Auden. W.H. Auden
Finale: Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest