1(pic).1(ca).1.1-1.1.0.0-perc(crot, s.d, b.d, high metal block, high and med wdbl)-hp-str - Digital Download SKU: S9.Q23800 Opera in 1 act. Composed by Huw Watkins. This edition: vocal/piano score. Downloadable, Piano reduction. Duration 45 minutes. Schott Music - Digital #Q23800. Published by Schott Music - Digital (S9.Q23800). English.Taking Thomas Hardy’s short story as its starting point, we are transported to the present for a contemporary take on the novella which explores the power the mind can have over that person’s actions. A closed door sparks an obsession so strong that the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to blur. Ella and her high-finance husband Stephen rent a room in a holiday home on the coast, owned by Susan. Ella discovers that a locked room in the house is rented by a poet - Ben Pascoe - whose work holds a deep fascination for her. The room is held for Pascoe, though he visits rarely. Ella's obsession with Pascoe grows in parallel with the progress of Stephen's biggest City deal. She begins by imagining the poet's voice as she reads his work, but this quickly grows to fantasised encounters with Pascoe in his locked room. Stephen returns from the City and makes love to Ella, but it is not him she wishes for. We see the real Pascoe only once, with Susan. As Stephen's financial dreams are realised and Ella's fantasy consumes her, she learns of Pascoe's death. Despite her changed circumstances, Ella chooses to stay in her new world.Wenn wir den Ausgangspunkt von Thomas Hardy Geschichte betrachten, fühlen wir uns in die Gegenwart, zu einem heutigen Blick auf die Novelle transportiert. Diese Sicht verdeutlicht, welche Macht der menschliche Geist über die Handlungen einer Person hat. Eine verschlossene Tür kann eine Obsession so entzünden, dass Realität und Fantasie zu verschwimmen beginnen.
