Straightened Bliss (2011)
Alto, Baritone & Piano, 5'
This mischievous duet, a setting of anonymous Victorian erotic verse, was a musical response to the following fictitious scenario:
"A young Oscar Wilde meets - for the very first time - with a German wife. This future 'Frau' Robinson regrets... Nicht!, Nulla!, Nuttin'!"
A timid young man is educated in the amorous arts by an older and decidedly more experienced woman while the music hints back to a seedy, fin de siècle decadence.
Straightened Bliss received its first performance on 26th June 2011 at the Cochrane Theatre, Holborn, performed by Valerie Cutko, James Smoker and Joseph Atkins. The piece was commissioned by Bruce Wall to enter the fourth Tim Williams Award Competition, "When You Hear My Voice".