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Programme Note

This suite for chamber ensemble and narrator is an extrapolation from the chamber opera Heart of Darkness, which in turn is based on the novella of the same name by Joseph Conrad.

Occasionally, what was vocal material in the stage work has been redistributed among the instruments; however the orchestral scoring of the original remains largely intact in the version.

The spoken text for the narrator is written by Tom Phillips and is based on his libretto for the opera. The text is reproduced in full on the following pages and identified within the score by numerical cues, (1A – 8B).

The opera, with music by Tarik O’Regan and a libretto by Tom Phillips, received its premiere at theRoyal Opera House Linbury Studio Theatre, London on 1 November 2011.