Looks to have been sanctioned by Ray Bradbury.
Wonder-full!: http://www.martianchroniclesop...nchroniclesoperasite

Here is a new page: http://martianchroniclesmusictheater.com/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Linnl,

good find! would love to see it.

I wish they wouldn't call it a "sci-fi classic". Even "science fiction" would be debatable, but not sci-fi, please!

I see they have put the libretto and score on the website, so we can all sing along...

I believe Mr. Bradbury once related that he got his framework for Martian Chronicles from John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, actually. Both novels are journeys for survival into a new world, more for necessity than for unknown adventures.

Over the many times I have read MC, it seemed to become less "Sci-Fi" each time. It increasingly reflected our earthly flaws, prejudices, and weaknesses; and yet it still highlights our magnificent human potentials and dreams. Mr. B was saying this as he wrote (and combined the tales) back in 1950!

A complete musical score of Martian Chronicles by a full symphonic orchestra would be fascinating. Let the listener settle in and then begin to travel and to imagine, unheeded by words...

To clarify, my objection to "sci-fi" is to the term itself, which in the science fiction field has strong connotations of BAD science fiction.

Then I have a mild discomfort with MARTIAN CHRONICLES even being labelled as "science fiction", principally because Bradbury insisted that it was "fantasy" rather than SF.

Yes, it echoes Steinbeck, and Sherwood Anderson. And ERB. It's for works like this that the vaguer term "speculative fiction" was coined.

quote:

Originally posted by fjp451: A complete musical score of Martian Chronicles by a full symphonic orchestra would be fascinating.

Agreed. The soundtrack to the mini-series is not bad. You might enjoy this performance from composer Vangelis, Mythodea: Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOsg1qPRi3M

Linnl!! I took my own advice (for once) and "settled in to listen and then began to travel and imagine!" From the land of Homer to Mr. Bradbury's Red Planet. Powerful. Stellar "Encore" choice, also!

(A long time admirer of Kathleen Battle, her voice carries you away...for sure. I knew of Vangelis's work, but totally missed this grand composition! Thank you.) "Onward to Mars!" - RB

Well I have the CD Mythodea, and remembered it when you expressed a desire for a TMC orchestration. Happy to find the performance on the web. Love Vangelis, I think I have five or six CDs. Here is a partial Vangelis quote about Mythodea from the liner-notes:

"Science and mythology were the topics which fascinated me since my early childhood. I listened to such stories from my family and the people around me. And that is how I remember . With the passage of time I realized how important it is to remember -- to remember as deeply as you can. It is certain that inside us -- all of human history, and at the same time all the codes of creation and the evolution of the universe -- are ingrained."

His statement reminds me of Bradbury. And in his intro to the 2006 William Morrow edition to TMC, the essay 'Green Town, Somewhere on Mars; Mars, Somewhere in Egypt', he writes:

"All right, then, what is Chronicles ? It is King Tut out of the tomb when I was three, Norse Eddas when I was six and Roman/Greek gods that romanced me when I was ten: pure myth. If it had been practical technologically efficient science fiction it would have long since fallen to rust by the road. But since it is a self-separating fable, even the most deeply rooted physicists at Cal-Tech accept breathing the fraudulent oxygen atmosphere I have loosed on Mars. Science and machines can kill each other off or be replaced. Myth, seen in mirrors, incapable of being touched, stays on. If it is not immortal, it almost seems such."

Opera certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, as it were, but the website is beautiful, and the artistic team seems to have had Mr. Bradbury's enhusiastic support. Would love to hear any stories from the people who worked on this.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Linnl,

This makes one wonder what we may someday uncover on Mars:
http://news.yahoo.com/mysterio...lilee-111707097.html

The Martian Chronicles Opera website was recently updated with working links to a youtube channel hosting 4 of 10 full length demos and six excerpts.

One compilation excerpt (2.5 min.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ssRTcvgcEE

Martian Chronicles Music + Lyrics Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Ma...nMusic?feature=watch

Also there is a newer website here: http://martianchroniclesmusictheater.com/

A performance is scheduled for June 9, 2013 at Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City!

Further, if you visit the site, you can signup for a Bradbury book giveaway!

quote:

Originally posted by Linnl:
Also there is a newer website here: http://martianchroniclesmusictheater.com/...

...which avoids the term "sci-fi". Hooray!

quote:

Originally posted by Linnl:
...A performance is scheduled for June 9, 2013 at Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City!...

This must be in honour of our own dandelion :-)

From the link..."followed by a presentation by a leading interplanetary exploration scientist from Cornell."

I can only wonder if this is my former student (when I first began teaching) who was a part of the Mars Rover (landing team)!

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:

quote:

Originally posted by Linnl:
...A performance is scheduled for June 9, 2013 at Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City!...

This must be in honour of our own dandelion :-)

Thanks, Phil!