The Fall of The House of Usher

composed by Philip Glass, text by Arthur Yorinkls after Edgar Allen Poe. Australian premiere August 1990
 
Instrumentation sop., ten., bar., bass, 2 vlns., vla., vlc., cb., fl/picc., cl., bn., hn., synth., guit., perc.
The melancholic house of Usher is the backdrop to a world in decay. The peculiar feeling of desolation, loneliness, melancholy and purposelessness, that 'abject dreariness' that Edgar Allen POE knew so well, takes on a strangely beautiful, mesmerising quality in Glass' operatic version. Here POE meets the present in a kind of 'Industrial Gothic', his moody minimalism charting Roderick Usher's enigmatic demise.
"... A Masterpiece in Melbourne ..." The Guardian, UK
Australian Premiere Merlyn Theatre, Melbourne, August 1990. Directed by Douglas Horton, musical direction by Brian Stacey, designed by Trina Parker,(sets), Wiggy Brennan (costumes) & David Murray (lighting)