Mr Emmet Takes a Walk is a chamber opera by the English composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by David Pountney. The work is self-described as a "dramatic sonata".
It tells the story of the last seconds of the life of Mr Emmet before his suicide on a railway line. Thoughts, ideas, musical fragments and experiences flash through Mr Emmet's mind before his death which expand across the fifty-minute duration of the work.
Davies has cited the works of four composers as motifs in the opera: Bach's Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F minor (BWV, 881) from Book 2 of the Well-Tempered Clavier Andrea Gabrieli's Edipo Tiranno "Come furia disperata" from Mozart's Don Giovanni (sung by the character Donna Anna in act 1, scene 1), the opening of Schumann's Second Symphony.Liner notes by the composer to the recording of the work, PsaCD1002.
The work premiered in a co-production of Muziektheater Transparant and the Psappha ensemble at the St. Magnus Festival, Orkney on 16 June 2000. It was recorded in 2005 with the original cast. The German Premier took place in 2004, produced by the Berliner Kammeroper, directed by , and conducted by .
Although Davies intimated that Mr Emmet Takes a Walk would be his last piece of musical theatre, just over a decade later he completed the a further opera, Kommilitonen!.
Roles RoleVoice typePremière cast, 16 June 2000Conductor: Étienne SiebensMr EmmetbaritoneAdrian Clarkemultiple rolesbass-baritoneJonathan Bestmultiple rolessopranoRebecca CaineOrchestraPsapphaDirectorDavid Pountney
Sections Exposition — A premonition No. 1 Introduction No. 2 Duet No. 3 Arioso No. 4 Cabaletta No. 5 Trio
Development — Encounters Episode 1 The Piano Interlude 1 Episode 2 The Park Interlude 2 Episode 3 The Hotel Room Interlude 3 Episode 4 The Mountain Interlude 4 Episode 5 The Teacher The Torch Song Interlude 5 Recapitulation - A monologue Coda
References
External links Details at Boosey & Hawkes Notes on the work (Psappha)] Production details at Muziektheater Transparant