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''Doctor Ox's Experiment'' is an opera in two acts by Gavin Bryars. It has an English-language libretto by Blake Morrison after the novella of the same name by Jules Verne. It was first performed on 15 June 1998 at the London Coliseum by English National Opera (ENO) who co-commissioned the opera with BBC Television. In the experiment of the title, Doctor Ox introduces a gas into a sedate and conservative Flemish village with the result that everyone and everything becomes speeded up and chaotic. (Ox's and his assistant's names combine to make Oxygėne, the French name for Oxygen.)〔` The opera explores the conflict between Ox's advocacy of modernity and scientific and political change and Ygène's belief that liberation and the accompanying loss of the traditional rhythms of life might bring unhappiness.〔 The music is predominantly slow-moving and quiet. Bryars allocated distinct voice types to the different types of roles: town elders, young lovers and scientists. He also included some unusual instruments in his orchestra: an oboe d'amore and an amplified jazz bass in the love scene, an electronic keyboard and a flugelhorn instead of trumpets in the brass section. The reception was mixed with several critics complaining of boredom while others wrote of members of the audience being entranced by the music. ==Composition history== Bryars began to think about his next opera in 1984, when he was in France for the production of ''Medea'', his first work in the genre. The three subjects he came up with were Flaubert's ''Bouvard et Pécuchet'', De Quincey's ''The Last Days of Immanuel Kant'' and Verne's ''Dr. Ox's Experiment''. Unknown to Bryars, this last had already been the subject of two other operas, the opéra-bouffe ''Le docteur Ox'' by Jacques Offenbach and ''il Dottor Oss'' by Annibale Bizzelli.〔〔Senelick (2003) p.8〕 The first music to materialise in connection with any of these projects was "By the Vaar", a 1987 work for jazz bass and chamber orchestra commissioned by the Camden Jazz Festival with Charlie Haden in mind. The title refers to the river that flows through the town in Verne's story and to the love scene between Frantz and Suzel that takes place on its banks.〔 The author has been a source for several other of the composer's works. ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' supplied text for three different compositions and ''The Green Ray'' provided the name and inspiration for his saxophone concerto.〔Bryars (1998)〕 Bryars approached Blake Morrison in May 1988 with the suggestion of working on an opera based on Verne's novella. At the time Morrison knew neither the Verne story nor Bryars's music but he agreed to the proposal after a lunchtime meeting with the composer. They worked together on a concert piece which was premiered as ''Doctor Ox's Experiment (Epilogue)'' by the soprano Sarah Leonard and the Gavin Bryars Ensemble in November 1988.〔Morrison (1998)〕 Both composer and librettist were distracted by other projects but Dennis Marks, who had moved from the BBC to become General Director of ENO, commissioned a full-scale opera to be premiered at the Coliseum.〔 Bryars incorporated material from both ''By the Vaar'' and ''Doctor Ox's Experiment (Epilogue)'' into the opera.〔 The main development occurred in the period 1994–1996.〔 Bryars and Morrison received guidance and advice from David Pountney, the opera director.〔 In developing the opera, Bryars and Morrison decided to flesh out some of the roles, including Ox, Ygène and Aunt Hermance. They also added a second pair of lovers. At one point, the composer considered giving the title role to American rock-singer Tom Waits, who had recorded one of the versions of Bryars's ''Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet''. Bryars was looking for a means of making Ox sound distinct from the rest of the cast but in the end decided to make it a tenor role.〔 The opera was dedicated to Bryars's mother.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Doctor Ox's Experiment (opera)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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