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The War Bride (Live Headphone Opera)

by Nathan Felix

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1.
Britain Declares War (Live) 02:36
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ACT 1: Britain Declares War... i. This Country is at War with Germany ii. Neville Chamberlain (The scene is in a formal office/podium as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declares war with Germany.) CHORUS ( chant ): This is a public radio announcement This is a public radio announcement Neville Chamberlain ( stoic ): The country is at war with Germany CHORUS ( chant ): The country is at war with Germany Neville Chamberlain My long struggle to win peace has failed Now may God Bless you all May he defend the right It is the evil things that we shall fight against In justice and oppression and persecution And against them I am certain that the right will prevail CHORUS ( chant ): Will prevail
2.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Live) 01:30
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Franklin D. Roosevelt: (Excerpts of radio broadcast of FDR’s speech after Pearl Harbor) I assent that we will not only Defend ourselves to the uttermost But will make it certain That this form of treachery Shall never Endanger Us With confidence of our armed forces With the unbounding determination Of our people We will gain the inevitable triumph So help us God
3.
S.S. Saturnia (Live) 02:44
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ACT 2: S.S. Saturnia i. FDR ii. The Dance iii. War Bride Ship iv. Letters from Germany v. The Atlantic to New York Joe I see you Standing there Dancing beauty (dancing. Jean & Joe fall in love and immediately look to get married. Jean was previously engaged to an French Canadian soldier who died in action) Joe & Jean Time stands still In your arms Marry me My Joe/Jean (respectively) Jean I’ve lost one before To this war Take my heart (fast forward to shipman, signifying marriage and the beginning of Jean’s journey) Shipman All aboard the S.S. Saturnia War Brides! (on the S.S. Saturnia setting sail over the Atlantic. This is Jean’s first time seeing the ocean and she is alone as Joe is stationed back in Germany and will not return to the US for 18 more months. We also discover Jean is pregnant and is feeling alone leaving her family and Joe for the time being) Jean Virgin eyes On ocean shores Atlantic CHORUS ( murmurs ) Shipman In one week You will see America Jean Breathing inside me Please God Save my family I hope this letter finds you Goodbye England My heart is forever torn
4.
Letters From Germany (Live) 01:46
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(stationed back in Germany receiving a letter from Jean and writing a letter back) Joe Blood dreams or life Everybody screams From bombing in the day Bombing in the night My best friend died in my arms I don’t know what I’ll become I feel myself changing Who am I Who am I CHORUS ( delicate ) Rivers Rivers Rivers (aboard the S.S. Saturnia after a week at sea and approaching New York) Jean Rivers can unite Rivers can divide At the break of dawn Liberty New York New York CHORUS New York New York New York New York (ship horn sounds)
5.
American Soil (Live) 01:20
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(at the dock in New York and US Customs where war brides did passport checks and were given train tickets to their final destination(s)) US Customs Officer Oh The United States Welcomes you to New York All you wallflower wives Please get in line Jean American soil Is this really My new home US Customs Officer This train to Georgia This train to Kansas This train to Utah This train to Texas Have your passport For the bride train Farewell war brides New life in America (train horn sounds)
6.
New York (Live) 02:39
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ACT 3: New York i. The City ii. Newfoundland (Jean in NYC overwhelmed by the bright lights and excitement of the wonderment of all she had dreamed America would be, unknowing of the culture shock that awaited her in south Texas) CHORUS ( showtune/broadway) Turn to the left Turn to the left Turn to the left Turn to the left Turn to the right New York! New York! Turn to the left New York! New York! Turn to the right New York! New York! Turn to the right New York! New York! Turn to the left New York! New York! Jean I am here to see my love in New York! New York! I am here to feel alive in New York! New York! Hold me in your arms tonight New York! New York! We can live our dreams tonight New York! New York! New York! New York (heading towards her train) New York Bye Bye On my mind Bye New York Goodbye my love New York Grandchild (sung with choir to represent their 7 children in the future) New York is where My mothers mom Set foot upon the Newfoundland She paved the way For me to fail So here I am today To break the curses That my father left Before he left me Here to die Not caring for The child i was But now I am that child today New york is where My mothers mom Set foot upon the Newfoundland She paved the way For me to fail New York!!! (train horn)
7.
The Bride Train (Live) 03:57
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ACT 4: The Bride Train i. The Appalachian Range ii. Carolinas to the Mississippi iii. Texas to Laredo (Jean (monologue style) boards a train unknowing the geographical location of her final stop. Exhausted, pregnant and lonely, Jean finds herself mesmerized by the landscapes) Jean Leaving New York by train Dreaming of our new life I gave away my life All in the name of love For my sweet Joe Wide eyed mountain ranges Grand appalachian Warms the skies with Red and yellow colors Gilded In awe of sight It’s beauty reigns It steals my heart I’m so alive And overwhelmed I want you here To hold my hand Carolina Jessamine Foothills of Tennessee Down through the Mississippi river breeze Ghosts of Mark Twain It’s marvel stares me in my soul A British girl with virgin eyes From poverty but now I dream And pray for my America The land of freedom The hope of my America Oh America And through the state of Arkansas Down to Texas My train has stopped In Laredo In Laredo (Jean gets off the train in the heat of Laredo)
8.
Nuevo Laredo (Live) 03:51
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ACT 5: Nuevo Laredo i. Bien Venido a Laredo ii. El Primo de Joe (Wearing a thick coat and tired from a long train ride, Jean meets Joes cousins including Juan who takes Jeans suitcase but does not offer her a ride and she must take a taxi to her new home. Laredo is far from what she expected of life in America. Seven people live in a small house with 2 rooms and a washtub out in the backyard) Joe Bien venido a Laredo La huida de Mejico Bien venido a Laredo La huida de Mejico Bien venido a Laredo A currucado a el Rio Grande Juan Mi nombre es Juan El primo de Joe Esta es Nuestra casa Puede llavar con la llave atras Y la taza esta afuera En el cobertezo (Joe is a different person that the man she met in Britain. Perhaps due to the war? He ignores Jean and is distant physically and emotionally) Joe Bien venido a Laredo La huida de Mejico Estoy cansado de la guerra Feliz de estar en casa Pero pronto nuestra estacion sera No he visto a mis amigos en anos De masiadas cosas han cambiando Alrededor de me dentro de mi
9.
I Stand on the Rio Grande (Live) 02:23
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ACT 6: I Stand on the Rio Grande i. Culture Shock (Jean standing along the river concerned that Joe is distant and now stationed in San Antonio, all while a baby is coming.) CHORUS ( whisper ) ‘Whisper names of migrant children’ Jean Desert sun Baby comes Joe is gone to San Antone I stand on the borderland Rio Grande Will my children Feel this pain Discriminate CHORUS ( whisper ) ‘Whisper names of migrant children’
10.
Voices on the Rio Grande (Live) 02:31
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ACT 7: Voices from the Rio Grande i. Voices have Power (modern day setting along the Rio Grande. All characters sing with the CHORUS representing community and unity) Soprano They are children of this land Our voices have power Tenor Stand in unity for their lives Our voices have power Tenor & Baritone Rise and stand On this river Divides families From each other Soprano Man creates boundaries That God gave as a gift Tenor & Baritone Our brethren Our river nourishes Not divides or discriminates All We are family Love is color blind (x4)

about

This headphone opera follows a WWII bride from Britain as she faces new challenges as an immigrant in the USA in the 1940's. The opera comes full circle to the present day with immigration as a focus at the Rio Grande border in Texas.

CHARACTERS
Jean Groundsell Contreras, ( Soprano )
Joe Contreras, ( Tenor )
Neville Chamberlain, ( Tenor )
Franklin D. Roosevelt, ( Baritone )
Shipman, ( Baritone )
US Customs Officer, ( Baritone )
Grandchild of Jean & Joe, ( Tenor )
Juan, ( Baritone )
THE CHORUS.
People, the Ocean, Whispers

SYNOPSIS
This is the story of my late grandmother, Jean Groundsell, who grew up as a poor teenage British girl living in Chichester when WWII broke out in England. The opera begins with the announcement from British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain that Great Britain was going to war with Germany. During ww2, Jean worked in the canteen of a hostel, in charge of several large tea urns in which she brewed and served tea to 3000 workers a day. Jean met my grandfather, Joe at a dance at one of the local American Army bases and they quickly fell in love and were soon married in 1945. My grandmother told me stories when I was younger about her long journey alone on a war bride ship from England to America and the excitement of first seeing New York. She used to tell me a lighthearted and funny story of her seemingly endless train ride down to Texas and how the weather kept getting warmer and warmer although through her memoir I discovered a tone of despair and uncomfort on this ride. Jean settled in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo to a culture shock and while Jean and Joe had seven children together, Joe was never that same “prince charming” she had met in Britain. The Rio Grande river and the Atlantic ocean play characters in this story as metaphors for division and distance as reflected in both the past in Jeans life and the present as a man created division.

HEADPHONE OPERA
The Headphone Opera Project allowed the audience to hear the entire ‘live’ performance via their headphones which were given out before the concert. Through the headphones, each listener heard music that was being performed live and they can chose to follow the singers, follow the actors or simply explore and create their own experience. All the while, an orchestra was in a separate room but was always audible via headphones.

credits

released January 2, 2019

CAST
Elise Miller (soprano) plays...
Jean Groundsell Contreras

James Dykman (tenor) plays...
Joe Contreras, Neville Chamberlain, grandchild

Jeremiah Drake (baritone) plays...
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Shipman, US Customs Officer, Juan

written by Nathan Felix
conducted by Richard Castillo
directed by Shane Howard
audio engineering by Erik Wofford
artwork by Ben Humphreys

THE ORCHESTRA
Richard Castillo (conductor)
Michael Tijerina-Cho (oboe)
William Colangelo (clarinet)
Jacob Kolodziej (trumpet)
Joseph McLemore (trombone)
Florian Love (violin)
Gabriella Baez (viola)
Luke Bonecutter (cello)
Jaime Ramirez (piano)
Ben Humphreys (percussion)
Steph Huskin (soprano)
Nancy Poffenbarger (soprano)
Chancey Blackburn (alto)
Madeline Elizondo (alto)
JonRay Watson (tenor)
Gregory Hillard (baritone)

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Nathan Felix

Felix is a composer and also a member of the Noise Revival Orchestra. The Curse the Cross & the Lion, was featured by the BBC and made into a documentary, The Curse & The Symphony.
PBS featured Felix's 6-Piano Project in which he restored abandoned pianos to premiere his works written for six pianos. Felix directs, From Those Who Follow the Echoes, who premiered his “Opera on a Bus“. ... more

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