KING YOU'S FOLLY
an opera in 2 acts
KING YOU'S FOLLY
A story of lust, betrayal and justice
King You (周幽王), ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, and married to Queen Shen (申 后), falls in love with a beautiful concubine named Bao Si and she bears him a son. He banishes his Queen and their son Prince Yijiu and installs his new love at Court.
However, the King’s dreams of a new life of domestic bliss are thwarted when he fails to satisfy Bao Si’s every whim, try as he does to please her.
Justice prevails when Queen Shen, accompanied by her father the Marquess of Shen and the Quanrong nomads, attack the palace and kill King You. Bao Si takes her own life and that of her child. Prince Yijiu ascends as King Ping of Zhou and a new era is begun.
At the composing and funding stage.
Composer: Malcolm Bruce
Producer: Wilfried Rimensberger
CHARACTERS
BO YANGFU [soothsayer] baritone
BAO SI [concubine, queen] dramatic coloratura soprano
KING YOU bass
QUEEN SHEN [deposed queen] mezzo-soprano
PRINCE YIJIU [deposed crown prince] boy soprano / young tenor
CAPTAIN [representing King You's Army] tenor
MARQUESS OF SHEN [Queen Shen's father] baritone