Dance of the Green Bird
(2000, rev. 2003)

Notes

The Green Bird is the last of ten plays written by Carlo Gozzi (1720-1806), an Italian playwright who mixed high fantasy, oriental imagery, and commedia dell'arte characters to present satirical stories that reflected Venetian politics. The height of Gozzi's career is marked by two earlier works - Turandot and The Love of Three Oranges - both of which are better known for operas bearing the same names. By the time The Green Bird was written, Gozzi's popularity had waned considerably, and as a result the play was never performed during his lifetime. Recently, Gozzi's works have undergone a revival, and as part of that revival The Green Bird received its first performance on January 19, 1975.

The story of The Green Bird is somewhat of a sequel to Gozzi's first play, The Love of Three Oranges. Similar in tone to Three Oranges, the story is a complicated mishmash of bumbling fools, evil tyrants, and hopeless romantics. Several of these stock characters wish to find the Green Bird under the promise that he can fulfill their own individual dreams - whether they are selfish or noble. Unbeknownst to them, the Green Bird is actually a wise and benevolent King who has fallen under a witches curse. As such, the Green Bird is the lone representative of wisdom and reason is an otherwise cast of fools.

Dance of the Green Bird is indirectly inspired by this play. The music is highly rambunctious and rhythmically driven, often nearing, but never actually reaching chaos. This music is frequently interrupted by flute/piccolo solos, representative of the Green Bird attempting to control the rest of the ensemble. This exchange of ensemble vs. flute continues up to the conclusion of the piece, where despite the flute's attempts, the ensemble never does yield control.

Winner of the 2001 Indiana University Dean's Prize

Premiered February, 2001
Auer Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN

Audio

Dance of the Green Bird

PDF Score excerpt

Dance of the Green Bird excerpt