The Fall of the House of Usher (opera)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Hammill chronology
The Fall of the House of Usher

Studio album by Peter Hammill
Released	1991/1999
Genre	Art rock
Label	Some Bizzare/Fie!
Room Temperature (1990)	The Fall of the House of Usher (1991)	Fireships (1992)

The Fall of the House of Usher is an opera by Peter Hammill (music) and Chris Judge Smith (libretto). It is based on the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. It has never been performed live in its entirety, but Hammill sang a suite of songs from it at live concerts in 1991 and 1992.

Hammill and Smith, two of the co-founders of Van der Graaf Generator, worked sporadically on the opera from 1973 until its first recording was released on Some Bizzare Records (the only instance of Hammill's work appearing on the label) in 1991. The album was available on CD, cassette and a limited edition of 500 double vinyl LPs. The cast of singers was:

Hammill himself, playing Roderick Usher and the House
Lene Lovich, playing Madeline Usher
Andy Bell, playing Montresor
Sarah Jane Morris, playing the Chorus
Herbert Grönemeyer, playing the Herbalist

Smith's libretto takes certain liberties with Poe's source text. The House itself becomes a vocal part, to be sung by the same performer who sings the role of Roderick Usher. The narrator, unnamed in the story, is given the name Montresor (the name of the narrator of another tale by Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado"), and a romantic attachment between Montresor and Madeline Usher is hinted at.

In 1999, Hammill regained the rights to the music from Some Bizzare and set about revising the piece. He re-recorded some of his own vocals, although the parts of the other singers were untouched. He also removed the percussion, added more electric guitar and remixed the entire recording. The results were released as The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Deconstructed & Rebuilt) on Hammill's own Fie! label in 1999. Hammill regards this version as the definitive recorded version of the opera [1].