Adelina the Jester was conceived as a chamber oratorio but can be staged as a regular opera. There are four soloists: Adelina (mezzo soprano), Earl Roger de Montgomery (tenor), King William II (bass/baritone), and Fitzhugh (bass). Fitzhugh is the only fictional character. An SATB chorus of at least 12 singers (the more the merrier) represents peasants, townspeople, courtiers, and jail inmates. The chorus comments on the action and moves the plot forward. Andrew Grainger melded a medieval feel into a modern score. The music includes choral chants, quick dialog, arias, recitatives, and soaring harmonies.

Instrumentation

• Lever harp
• Lute and Baroque guitar (one player)
• Alto recorder
• Chamber organ
• Percussion (two players): bass and tenor drums with wooden beaters, tambourine and shaker.

Instrumentation for an opera production

• Full orchestra
• Lever harp
• Lute and Baroque guitar (one player)
• Alto recorder
• Percussion (two players): bass and tenor drums with hard beaters, tambourine and shaker.

Soloists

• mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass/baritone, bass

Chorus

• Chorus (SATB) 12 members minimum: three per voice. A larger choir will also work.

Amplification

An important element for the soundscape of Adelina the Jester is that all the instruments and singers (soloists and chorus) should be amplified. The fairly 'small' natural sound of the instruments means that amplification is neccessary to create the exciting and enveloping soundscape that is such an inherent aspect of the work. The sound should be mixed and presented with additional ambience or 'reverb'. If te work is performed in an opera house, some of these considerations can be modified to suit the specific circumstances.

Notes about the instrumentation.

The tuning mechanism of the lever harp has some important differences from the pedal harp, and the score is composed with this particular type of harp in mind. It is possible to use a pedal harp instead, but the harpist would have to make some choices about which notes to include and which notes to exclude in certain places. This would have a harmonic significance, but is possible. A lever harp is obviously preferred.

The lute and Baroque guitar part is possible to replace with a regular six-string modern guitar, with all metal strings, but a lute and five-string Baroque guitar is preferred.

From the composer: Andrew Grainger

Adelina is an interesting compositional blend of medieval type instrumentation, combined with four soloists and a chamber chorus. Although I wanted to write a contemporary sounding piece, I also wanted to keep a medieval feel to the score and chose instruments that engendered that historical period. The main accompaniment instruments are the lever harp and the lute. They provide all the chordal accompaniment in the recitative sections and add to the overall soundscape in the tutti sections. They are underpinned by a chamber organ (using a soft, flutey type registration) which provides an important sustaining element in the work. The recorder is the main melodic instrument, and the percussion section, consisting of a bass and tenor drum with hard beaters, and a tambourine and shaker, provides the rhythmic elements essential for creating an exciting and driving beat, but also helpful for providing many of the songs with an underlying groove.

Because of the nature of the featured instrumentation, most of the more contemporary harmonies are featured in the choral writing. The chorus has multiple roles, including providing important story elements in the style of a Greek chorus, often sung acapella, but they also enrich many of the arias by providing backing harmonies for the soloists, and there are also a few short solos which are provided by various members of the chorus.