A one-act monodrama for baritone and chamber ensemble
Learning ASL gave [Lucy] the power to ask questions about her environment. Before ASL it was clear that Lucy had a primitive sense of beauty and aesthetics—she would draw, use finger paints and crayons, and work at her production until she got it just right. And I have seen her sit and stare as though enraptured at a beautiful sunset. Since she acquired her ASL signs she does the same things, but now she asks “What’s that?” Interestingly, she has never asked, “Why?"
Lucy Temerlin was a chimpanzee raised in a human family for the first 12 years of her life. According to her “father,” psychotherapist Maurice Temerlin, “She ate with us, she slept with us, she worked with us and she played with us. In every way that we could manage we gave her the same enriched environment that we provided our son, Steve.”
This one-act monodrama, using vignettes drawn from Temerlin’s memoirs, explores the dynamic relationships between individuals of various species. Bonded with Temerlin and his wife Jane from the second day of her life, Lucy is motivated by a strong desire to please her “parents,” which is sometimes at odds with her biological programming. Nevertheless, Lucy becomes an accomplished member of the human household, proficient in communication and the use of tools.
In addition to proudly relating stories of his daughter’s accomplishments, Temerlin describes and analyzes her interactions—with family members, other humans, a kitten, a herd of cattle—in a series of vignettes that are by turns touching, amazing, hilarious and disturbing. He is particularly fascinated by her experimental behavior toward beings she will never completely understand. Despite the genetic gulf that separates Lucy from her father, they are more alike than he is ready to admit.
Each time Lucy has encountered another animal smaller than herself she takes a thoughtless delight in playing with a helpless, interesting organism. Her motives may be curiosity rather than sadism, but the effect on the sub-dominant organism is the same.
Lucy’s story was recently featured on NPR in episodes of RadioLab and This American Life, with commentary from a variety of researchers and experts. In Our Basic Nature, we hear her complicated story in her father’s words.
Our Basic Nature is a multi-media work of music-theater for baritone and chamber ensemble in one 45-minute act. Psychologist Dr. Temerlin's memoir Growing Up Human provides the source for libretto. In 1964, Temerlin and his wife Jane adopted a day-old chimpanzee, to whom they gave the name Lucy. Their intention, wrote Temerlin, was to raise Lucy “as much as possible as though she were a human being.” Incorporating music and original projection design, Our Basic Nature explores the blurred lines between animal and man through this incredible story. Inspired by dramatic song cycles including Janacek's Diary of One Who Disappeared and Schubert's Winterreise, the work is suitable for performance in recital spaces, small to medium sized opera houses, and contemporary art performance spaces. The work is scored for baritone, bass clarinet, violin, cello, toy piano, and piano (2 pianists required).
Funded in part through Meet The Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program.
About the Creators
JOHN GLOVER (composer)
A composer by trade, John has composed music for theater, opera, and the concert hall. Commissions from organizations and musicians including the American Conservatory Theater (War Music), Baltimore Opera (Huck Finn: A Children’s Opera), and violist Liuh-wen Ting (Life-Cycles) have distinguished him as an emerging voice in contemporary music. John has received numerous awards, fellowships and grants for his music from organizations including the Thornton School of Music at USC, and the American Music Center. He received his undergraduate training in composition with a focus in saxophone performance from Indiana University and his master's degree in composition from the University of Southern California. John also writes notes, articles, and online courses for organizations such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Glimmerglass Opera, the Chicago Sinfonietta, Carnegie Hall, and Opera America. He currently lives in New York City where he co-curates the music/art series NewYorksoundCircut at the Brecht Forum and is operations manager for the American Composers Orchestra.
KELLEY ROURKE (librettist/dramaturg)
Kelley Rourke's adaptation of The Elixir of Love for Sir Jonathan Miller's recent production at English National Opera was praised for its “crackingly witty translation” (The Independent), "brilliantly updated" (Opera Brittania) which “communicates vividly without mashing the music” (Financial Times). Other adaptations include Orpheus in the Underworld for Glimmerglass Opera (2007); and The Magic Flute (2005) and The Abduction from the Seraglio (2004), both for the In Series (Washington, DC). Rourke is dramaturg at Glimmerglass Opera, where she has been on staff since 1994. She has created supertitles for more than 50 operas, which have appeared at such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and New York City Opera, among others. Kelley has held various positions at OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, since 1998, and is founding editor of the organization's magazine. She is program annotator for the Vocal Arts Society, and she serves on the board of the Cherry Valley Community Facilities Corporation. READ the AOP Spotlight interview with Kelley Rourke
WNYC's Radiolab feature on "Growing up Human," the story that inspired Our Basic Nature.
In 'Our Basic Nature,' a radio story fit for an opera
by Chris Roberts, Minnesota Public Radio
November 15, 2010
Photo Gallery
WATCH
excerpt - "Lucy's vocabulary at age 9.5"
Dec 2010 - First Chance workshop at WNYC Greene Space, New York, NY
excerpt - "Completely at home"
Dec 2010 - First Chance workshop at WNYC Greene Space, New York, NY
excerpt - "We have seen Lucy use the following tools"
Dec 2010 - First Chance workshop at WNYC Greene Space, New York, NY.
AOP Presentations
December 10, 2010 The Greene Space at WNYC
44 Charlton Street
New York, NY 10014 Concert reading of scenes MUSIC DIRECTION: Jocelyn Dueck
PERFORMANCES BY: Andrew Wilkowske, Redshift.
Other Presentations
November 15 & 16, 2010
Nautilus Music Theater presents Workshop of scenes MUSIC DIRECTION: Jocelyn Dueck
PERFORMANCES BY: Andrew Wilkowske, Redshift.
Monday, November 15th @ 7:30 pm
Nautilus Music-Theater Studio
308 Prince Street, 2nd Floor in Lowertown St. Paul, MN
Tuesday, November 16th @ 7:30 pm
Sateren Hall, Augsburg College,
22nd Ave at Riverside, Minneapolis, MN
Funded in part through Meet The Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program.
August 6-10, 2010 Cherry Valley, NY Workshop of scenes MUSIC DIRECTION: Jocelyn Dueck
PERFORMANCES BY: Andrew Wilkowske, Redshift.
Funded in part through Meet The Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program.
JOHN GLOVER (composer)
KELLEY ROURKE (librettist/dramaturg)
