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182:("October 3") we meet the feckless government clerk Popristchin, short of money and in love with Sophie, the daughter of his boss. His sanity is clearly in question as he overhears a conversation between Sophie's poodle and a dachshund belonging to a passing girl (highlighted, as in most of Popritschin's future delusions, by the accompaniment of prepared electronic effects on tape).
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190:("October 5") the increasingly demented Popritschin seeks to retrieve the correspondence which he imagines to exist between the two dogs. He believes that he has found it and that it describes Sophie's forthcoming marriage to a Gentleman of the Chamber, and also contains some rude comments about Popritschin himself.
52:, then the director of the Berlin Festival. Scherchen gave Searle complete choice of subject, stipulating only that the orchestra be of no more than 15 players, and that there should be no more than four singing roles. Searle had recently written incidental music for a radio production of Gogol's story, starring
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is dated "43 April 2000 A. D." Popritschin is now suffering from delusions of grandeur and believes himself to be King
Ferdinand VIII of Spain. Turning up to his office he creates chaos before the astonished Sophie.
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is also specified to produce particular sound effects. The voices of two dogs are directed to be sung by the same performer, using a loudspeaker. The opera was written in London and
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in 1833. The opera is in five continuous scenes, each corresponding to a date in the diary, which is projected onto the backcloth, and following the outline of Gogol's story. In
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186:("October 4"), finds Popritschin reprimanded by his boss for his inefficiency, and for his hopeless dreams of Sophie. In
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between April and June 1958, and was premiered at the Berlin
Festival on 3 October 1958, with Scherchen conducting.
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63:. The opera is scored for an orchestra of single strings, woodwind, and brass, with two percussionists. An
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The libretto was written by the composer, based on the translation of Gogol's story by
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The work, which is the first of Searle's operas, was commissioned by
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Premiere cast, 3 October 1958 (Conductor: Hermann
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377:. MusicWeb International website, accessed 18 December 2016.
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gave the first
British performance of the opera in 1960 at
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219:. A recording of this production made by the
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40:. The opera was premiered in 1958 in Berlin.
151:Silent roles: A girl; a footman; Teplov, a
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581:Operas based on works by Nikolai Gogol
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285:Searle (1958), pp. (ii)- (iv), p. 55.
227:, won the radio critics prize at the
141:Voices of two dogs, Madgie and Fido
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237:In 1967 the opera was conducted by
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446:Variations on an Elizabethan Theme
368:. London and Mainz: Schott and Co.
232:International Rostrum of Composers
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16:1958 opera by Humphrey Searle
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119:Master of a Lunatic Asylum
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203:Reception and Performances
174:The action takes place in
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153:Gentleman of the Chamber
107:Chief of Office Section
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303:Searle (1958), pp. 1-6.
294:Searle (1958), p. (iii)
374:Quadrille with a Raven
213:Sadler's Wells Theatre
427:The Diary of a Madman
366:The Diary of a Madman
34:eponymous short story
21:The Diary of a Madman
561:Operas set in Russia
234:in the same year.
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545:Categories
350:Chapter 16
274:Chapter 13
253:References
86:Voice type
44:Background
161:dachshund
122:baritone
484:Category
247:Colorado
170:Synopsis
144:soprano
111:baritone
497:Portals
457:Related
359:Sources
241:at the
197:Scene 5
192:Scene 4
188:Scene 3
184:Scene 2
180:Scene 1
133:soprano
129:Sophie
551:Operas
449:(1952)
430:(1958)
229:UNESCO
159:and a
157:poodle
69:Amalfi
535:Music
523:Opera
419:Music
258:Notes
99:tenor
82:Role
75:Roles
207:The
245:in
221:BBC
163:).
36:by
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265:^
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404:e
397:t
390:v
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