The Four
Note Opera
The recipe. One pianist. Four singers. Four notes. Add a witty, self-aware text.
Singers revealing their innermost private thoughts. Indulging in personal rivalries. Turning the world of opera inside out. The result is Tom Johnson’s 1972 classic, The Four Note Opera, which takes the fears and foibles of opera stars as the starting point for a musical equivalent of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. But with four singers. And four notes. And sounding as fresh as it did when new.
SUNG IN ENGLISH
“Part absurdist, part minimalist, part satiric and part simple comedy” - Tom Johnson on The Four Note Opera
“Mr Johnson’s 65-minute score sticks to four notes of the scale — A, B, D and E — but he has employed them so ingeniously that the music never gets boring” - The New York Times
“Four Notes, One Hit, No Errors . . . Tom Johnson has done a first-rate piece of work, and turned out a small gem that is like nothing else in the world” - New York Magazine
Cast and Creative Team
Cast
| Kelli-Ann Masterson | Soprano |
| Bríd Ní Ghruagáin | Mezzo-soprano |
| Andrew Gavin | Tenor |
| Rory Dunne | Baritone |
| David Howes | Bass-baritone |
Creative Team
| Richard McGrath | Music Director |
| Sarah Baxter | Director |
| Maree Kearns | Designer |
Soprano
Kelli-Ann Masterson
This Season
Opera Fireworks, Mezzo Masterpieces, The Four Note Opera, 20 Shots of Opera
Mezzo-soprano
Bríd Ní Ghruagáin
This Season
Paper Boat, The Four Note Opera
Tenor
Andrew Gavin
This Season
The Abduction from the Seraglio, The Four Note Opera, 20 Shots of Opera
Bass-baritone
Rory Dunne
This Season
The Four Note Opera
Bass-baritone
David Howes
This Season
Opera Fireworks, The Four Note Opera, 20 Shots of Opera
Répétiteur
Richard McGrath
This Season
Opera Fireworks, The Four Note Opera
