Two Hamlet scenes

Unrestricted This composition is an operatic setting of Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5; a transitory excerpt of Act IV, Scene 6 (Gertrude announces Ophelia's demise); and Act V, Scene 1, scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, two violins, viola, cello and contrabass.; So that Act V, Scene 1 may be performed with a broader vocal spectrum than possible with an all-male complement, the role of the gravedigger, traditionally male, is sung by a female soprano who also sings the role of Ophelia. This affords a re-interpretive opportunity to assert subtext and internal musical reference. Ophelia and the gravedigger are the two characters who sing diegetic music in the play itself; each character's signature arioso is related to the other by inversion.; Other compositional devices include the harmonic association of the [0, 1, 4] set with Hamlet in particular and the broader theme of madness in general; an angular melodic fragment built on this set that serves as a primary unifying device throughout; the association of the more complex [0, 1, 3, 4, 7] set (of which [0, 1, 4] is a subset) with Ophelia; the association of isorhythm with Ophelia's subterfuge; the association of counterpoint with the complexity of Hamlet's character, including a passacaglia based on the angular theme, and a three-voice canon with one voice in augmentation; and the development of a readily identifiable rhythmic motif associated with the theme of death.; Hamlet is sung by a baritone; Ophelia/Gravedigger a lyric coloratura soprano; Gertrude by a mezzo-soprano; Claudius by a bass-baritone; Laertes, Horatio and the Gentlemen by tenors