Latest news concerning Dot and the Kangaroo
There have been two important recent developments which I would like to write about here. Firstly, I have decided to re-orchestrate the opera, this time for a full size orchestra, rather than the chamber orchestra it featured originally. As it was always intended that Dot and the Kangaroo would be a work presented on the 'main-stage', this decision is unlikely to affect the opera's 'performability', indeed given the way most European opera houses are structured, this may in fact help.
The primary reason however for this decision, is simply the way I am now hearing the opera: I have a feeling that I need to add more colours to my palette. I have also arranged a concert version of the Prelude to Act 1 of the opera that uses the full configuration and have produced a recording of that to give you at least a rough idea of how it might sound. You can listen to the recording here.
You can also view excerpts of Act 1 of Dot and the Kangaroo featuring the original chamber-orchestra configuration as follows: Prelude, Pts 1&2 sung in English here. Part 2, sung in German here. Part 3, sung in English with German subtitles here.
DOT AND THE KANGAROO
Dot and the Kangaroo is an opera for children of all ages (and their adults), currently being developed by Berlin based Australian composer David Osborne, with a libretto by the composer and a German language version by Olaf Roth. It is loosely based on the book of the same name, written in the 1890s by Ethel Charlotte Pedley and tells the story of a little girl, who after losing her way in the Australian bush, encounters various native animals. The original book, like the opera, is full of humour and excitement. It is hoped that by appealing to European children's fascination with and love of native Australian wildlife, the opera will deliver a strong and positive message concerning the need for environmental protection.
This updated version also deals with important issues relevant to our world today: Some historical yet still unresolved such as stolen children, others of a particularly contemporary nature such as gun violence, or for example reminding us that those who arrive on the shores of a strange land in boats are not always given the warmest of welcomes. The opera also explores the theme of cultural appropriation.
If necessary, the opera can be performable with a moderately sized cast and modest orchestral forces. This should enable productions to tour economically, perform in smaller venues and as a consequence be accessible not only to audiences in big cities.
Background
It would no doubt have come as some surprise to the author that she is now best remembered for the much loved children's classic. Her obituary published in the Sydney Morning Herald on the 8th of August 1898 does not mention the book at all, preferring to focus on her career as a violinist, music teacher and composer. The reason for this being that Dot and the Kangaroo was first published the year after it's author succumbed to cancer aged only 40.
Dot and the Kangaroo is far more than just an endearing tale of a little girl lost in the Australian bush. It is a pull no punches critique of how the country was colonised, how it's unique fauna and flora were treated by the white settlers and indeed, albeit in a perhaps unsurprisingly flawed Victorian way, how the first Australians fared as well. As such it is a story that should have particular resonance in contemporary Australia, as well as having meaning for children everywhere.
It has been suggested that Ethel's deep impression of the Australian bush was inspired by the landscape around her brother's farm near Walgett in north- western NSW, the lands of the Gamilaraay people. The setting for the opera will be the Warrumbungle Mountains, a beautiful and rugged area located within the boundaries of these lands.
A Note From The Composer
Dot and the Kangaroo is being 'through composed', meaning in this case that I am writing the libretto and the music concurrently, working from a detailed scenario. As the work progresses this allows for new ideas to shape the storyline, often in surprising ways. For example, the Kangaroo has developed into someone somewhat more complex and conflicted than she perhaps is in the original story.
In the opera, she has come to represent the country as a whole before the white people came. She therefore has difficulty reconciling on the one hand, her natural hostility towards and distrust of Dot for 'what she is', with on the other, her instinct as a Mother to nurture and protect. Both Dot and the Kangaroo are on a similar journey throughout the course of the opera, as they develop a greater understanding and appreciation for a companion who by rights should have been their natural enemy.
Of course, there will be bumps in the road along the way, as their argument at the end of Act 1 shows. In the meantime…
The music? It just happens. The further I go, the more I endeavour insofar as it is possible, to 'not understand' what I'm doing. Strange I know, but please bear with me. I strive constantly to avoid the technical, I do not analyse harmonies, key signatures become more about having as few accidentals as possible. Anything I can do to make the creative process as spontaneously 'pure' as can be. Just writing down the music as it pops into my head. As a consequence I have more than once found myself in the position whereby, if I wish to reprise a particular musical idea, I have to go back and try to work out what it is I have in fact written in the first place.
Leitmotivs are there for sure, but they appear as if by magic 'after the event', once again nothing is planned. This for me is the only way to compose, but in the interests of full disclosure I will say that I did foresee the argument at the Billabong. It was inspired by the end of Act 2 of 'Die Meistersinger'- the wild night-time kerfuffle in the town square. I had the idea perhaps three months before I got the music, it was a little slow in coming, but, I hope, worth the wait.
Synopsis
To the children of Australia
in the hope of enlisting their sympathies for the many
beautiful, amiable, and frolicsome creatures
of their fair land,
whose extinction, through ruthless destruction,
is being surely accomplished
Ethel Charlotte Pedley
Act 1, Prelude
Dot is seen leaning on a window-sill, staring out into the bush and day dreaming. From far away she hears, or imagines she hears a voice calling to her. Although she doesn't fully understand the meaning of the words, it seems to Dot that what she is hearing might be some kind of lament, perhaps as if something or someone very special has been lost. Returning to reality, Dot is asked by her Mother to gather some bush flowers before dinner and she sets off, at all times making sure that she stays in sight of the farm. Suddenly, a hare starts at her feet and springs away into the scrub. Dot, forgetting herself momentarily, scampers after it. By the time she realises that she has no chance of catching the hare, she can no longer see the cottage. Dot becomes frightened and runs, little knowing that she is going further away from her home with every step. Finally she stumbles into a clearing, peers upwards to the heavens then slumps, exhausted and frightened at the foot of a Blackbutt tree.
Act 1, Scene 1
Dot is lost and afraid. She tries to re-assure herself that her family will be out searching the bush the moment they realise she is missing, but then she remembers the story of a little boy who ventured out into the bush recently, never to return. It's late in the afternoon and the bush is full of strange and terrifying sounds. She notices a large dark shadow looming over her and realises she is not alone…
Act 1, Scene 2
Covering her face in expectation that she is about to meet her untimely end, Dot opens her eyes only to see standing before her a large female eastern grey kangaroo. At first it appears that the Kangaroo is less than overjoyed with this interruption to her day. We soon learn that this is not the first time she has encountered a child lost in the bush. Suddenly the great creature appears to have an idea. She bounds off a short distance and Dot can see her foraging back and forth in the scrub. She returns carrying in her paws a selection of different coloured berries. It is clear to Dot that the Kangaroo wishes her to eat them, something that Dot is all too happy to do, given that she is starting to feel quite hungry. It is then that really strange things start to happen…
These are clearly no ordinary berries. As she eats Dot becomes aware that the mysterious noises surrounding her are actually the voices of the creatures in the bush. Thanks to the magic of the berries, she can now understand all that they are saying, although she probably wishes she couldn't. Clearly the bush creatures are not too fond of Dot and her kind.
Act 1, Scene 3
Dot and the Kangaroo can now communicate, and we discover the reason why Dot was given the berries in the first place. The Kangaroo has a child, a Joey who not long after leaving her pouch, disappeared while they were grazing on grass near a human settlement and has not been seen since. She tells Dot the story of that fateful moment, of falling asleep momentarily whilst relaxing in the warm afternoon sun, only to wake suddenly to find her whole life turned upside down. Having heard of human children keeping native animals as pets, the Kangaroo wonders if Dot might be the one responsible. Dot for her part is horrified by the suggestion, she cannot imagine what could have prompted the Kangaroo to make this allegation.
The Kangaroo continues her story with mounting panic as she remembers searching desperately for her baby. Finally she describes finding a high vantage point from where she can look out across the whole countryside and in doing so, how the awful truth is revealed. Dot is horrified and deeply moved by this story but appeals for understanding:
Look, Kangaroo I'm really, really sorry
To hear about your baby. It must be awful for you
But if he was taken by men and perhaps that is true
Then you have to believe, that's something I'd never do
And I am lost myself right now.
At home I have a Mother
Who'll be feeling just the way you do.
We are not so different, Kangaroo…
The Kangaroo comes therefore to the conclusion that Dot is after all a trustworthy creature, and promises to help Dot find her way home. First however, they have to get to the Billabong (waterhole) to drink, as all the bush creatures must do in the evening. Those who hunt the animals for food know this as well, so it is likely to be a dangerous journey.
Act 1, Scene 4
We find ourselves at a Billabong, deep and clear, surrounded by trees. The water enters at one end via a small waterfall. A Koala stands at the foot of one of the trees, he stretches, yawns then begins to climb. When he reaches the highest branches he looks out in all directions, scanning the horizon as if on the lookout for something...
Having satisfied himself that the coast is clear and there are no dangerous humans in the vicinity, he calls out to the other animals, informing them it is safe to come out from hiding. As the Koala busies himself munching on gum-leaves, one by one starting with the smallest of birds, they do just that. Having eaten his fill, he then calls once more, this time imploring the others not to make too much noise. Like all Koalas, at any given time he is either eating or sleeping and this one has finished eating!
Bubbles appear on the surface of the Billabong, followed by a Platypus who shakes himself dry and looks up somewhat indignantly at the Koala in the treetops. The Platypus believes himself to be very well informed on most things, but living as he does a very isolated existence, most of his beliefs turn out to be... well, just plain wrong. He repeats one of these commonly held misconceptions now:
Platypus: Oh for heaven's sake, I don't know why you even bother coming to the Billabong.
Everyone knows Koalas don't drink water anyway...
Just as he says this, Dot and the Kangaroo arrive on the scene and Dot immediately corrects him, causing great consternation from the Platypus and not a little mirth amongst the other animals. For her part the Kangaroo is starting to realise that there is more to her new friend than perhaps meets the eye. As the small birds join in the fun, the Kookaburra, who finds all this particularly hilarious, encourages Dot to keep teasing the Platypus. Dot however, explains that she was only trying to set the record straight, and that she never meant to hurt the Platypus's feelings.
A great commotion then ensues, the Kookaburra laughing hysterically as things really start to get out of hand. Finally the Koala, who everyone has forgotten, calls out indignantly from the top branches of the tree reminding everyone that he is trying to sleep. After a brief silence, the animals again continue their argument, at first in whispers but then gradually increasing the volume until once more, mayhem ensues! Again they are interrupted but this time they realise the situation is far more serious than the mere disturbance of a sleepy Koala.
The animals realise that they are after all in danger. The Koala warns them that there are humans and their dangerous Dingo companions approaching fast. The animals flee in panic. Last to leave would be the Kangaroo, but Dot holds her back. She is under the impression that these people might be able to show her the way home. The Kangaroo however has other ideas:
Kangaroo: Oh my, this is not my mess and now
We're in great danger.
We have very little time,
Not nearly enough to tell
The story of these people.
You have forced them off their land.
Do you really think that they'd be pleased to see you?
As for me a very warm welcome would be planned,
Do you not know what they'd do?
Do you eat Kangaroo?
Dot: (In shock) What? No! And that's a horrible thing to say!
As their situation becomes more precarious, the Kangaroo starts taking out her anger towards the white settlers on Dot, who is horrified that she is being blamed. She decides to walk out on the Kangaroo and instead take her chances with the approaching tribes-people, but as she goes to leave she is confronted by a pack of hungry Dingos. The Kangaroo orders Dot to jump in her pouch and they take flight with the pack of wild dogs in hot pursuit. Desperately trying to out-run them, the Kangaroo takes them higher and higher up a mountain until they realise they are approaching a cliff edge. With nowhere else to go, they are trapped. One of the dogs makes a leap for the Kangaroo, she fights it off momentarily, but there is no hope against the pack. No alternative then but to make one last desperate leap for safety. They reach the other side and the dingos dare not pursue them, but in the quiet that follows Dot becomes aware that the Kangaroo is badly injured. Dot, hurt and confused by what has taken place, tries to comfort her friend and exhausted they both fall into a deep sleep.
Act 2
When Dot awakes, the Kangaroo is nowhere to be seen and instead she is surrounded by a host of other bush animals making a dreadful commotion. Dot is being put on trial for the crimes of all the white inhabitants of Australia. Sitting in judgement of her will be a sulphur-crested cockatoo, a jury of smaller birds and a pelican prosecutor. The fact that the proceedings are so chaotic is not helped by Dot's complete inability to take them seriously. Things quickly descend into farce until the matter is raised of Dot's role in the demise of the much loved Kangaroo, who no one has seen. It seems a conviction is imminent but just as judgement is about to be handed down the Kangaroo appears, wondering what all the fuss is about. She has apparently been out picking berries for Dot's breakfast. In the ensuing ruckus, Dot and the Kangaroo quietly slip away. They are off to visit the Willy- Wagtail, a bird well used to spending time around humans, and someone who knows exactly how to find Dot's lost way.
The Willy- Wagtail has no problem recognising Dot despite her dishevelled appearance. He describes for Dot the farm where she lives, and also has some news regarding the search. This, the kind bird says, is about to be abandoned. It's late in the evening now, but he promises to show Dot the way home after they get some rest. Alone together again, Dot asks the Kangaroo about the strange voice she keeps hearing from the bush and what it might mean. The Kangaroo explains that when the white people came, they took the land without giving a thought to who it belonged to, people and animals who had lived there for many thousands of years before. By doing that they also destroyed an ancient culture and when that happens everybody loses, including those doing the taking. Moved by this explanation, Dot promises to do everything in her power to make others aware of the message.
Early the next morning, two sad men are patrolling the bush near the edge of the farm. They have all but given up hope of finding Dot alive and are mystified by the circumstances of her disappearance. We learn that she has been tracked to a clearing but from there the trail has gone dead, Dot's tracks replaced by those of a large kangaroo. They then notice a tiny black and white bird dancing excitedly around them. The Willy-Wagtail is trying to tell them that The Kangaroo and Dot are approaching and whatever they do, not to shoot. The men are intrigued by the friendly, frenzied dancing of the bird but of course have no idea what he's trying to say, not having eaten any wild bush berries that day. One of the men notices the Kangaroo and reaches for his gun. “Fancy it coming so close to the house” he says, “next time it appears I'll get a shot at it” . Just as he is about to fire, the other man suddenly grabs the gun and it goes off harmlessly into the air. “Dot!” cries the man with the gun, dropping it and running forward.
Dot is beside herself with joy at seeing her Father again, but at the same time horrified that he should have threatened her friend in such a way. She demands he promise never to do that again. Overcome with relief and remorse, her father agrees. Hearing the commotion, Dot's Mother comes running out of the house to join the celebration and behind her, a recent addition to the household. It is a baby kangaroo found by Dot's father during the search and given to his wife as a pet. In no time at all the Kangaroo's Joey, for that of course is who it is, rushes forward to be re-united with his Mother. “You've found your Joey, how wonderful!” cries Dot, but the Kangaroo just looks at Dot with sad, uncomprehending eyes. Before Dot has a chance to realise what is happening, the Kangaroo has taken her baby into her pouch and is bounding off into the bush.
DOT AND THE KANGAROO
Opera for children in 2 Acts.
CAST