The Princess of the Stars

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The Princess of the Stars is an experimental opera or music drama by the Canadian composer Raymond Murray Schafer. The opera is notable because it must be performed on and near a lake, preferably as far from civilization as possible. The opera was premiered on a small lake outside Toronto in 1981 by New Music Concerts and again in 1985 for the Banff School of Fine Arts summer festival on a more remote lake in Banff National Park. The performance was attended by over five thousand people [1].

The Princess of the Stars (the opera is based on a Native American folk tale) begins before dawn. The singers, instrumentalists and audience members are situated in a clearing at the water's edge. The work begins with a short aria from the unseen Princess. As this aria ends canoes bearing dancers and actors in brightly colored costumes appear from the far side of the lake. On the canoes are mounted very large lavishly decorated puppets, each of which represents a character or charceters in the story: the Wolf, the Dawn Birds, and the 3-Horned Enemy. (The Sun God is played by the real sun.) Throughout the work Schafer has written detailed instructions for the performers. All the canoe routes are scripted and the participants chant in a fictional language Schafer created which is based loosely on Native American languages.

The Princess of the Stars is the first in a series of six theater pieces entitled Patria (homeland).

[edit] Story

The story line of The Princess of the Stars is based on traditional tales told by various northern native peoples. In the opera, the Sun God’s daughter, the Princess of the Stars, falls to the earth and is captured by the 3-Horned Enemy, who hides her at the bottom of a lake. Wolf, with the help of the Dawn Birds is determined to find the Princess. After an arduous search, Wolf finds the Princess in the lake and with the help of the Dawn Birds, who sweep the water aside with their wings, Wolf prepares to battle the 3-Horned Enemy. However, before the fight begins the sun emerges from the horizon and scares the 3-Horned Enemy away. The Sun God orders Wolf to search the world for the Princess (who has fled) and orders the Dawn Birds to freeze the lake and be silent until the Princess is found.