Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Joby Talbot
Everest (2014)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by The Dallas Opera. Keith Cerny, General Director & CEO.
- 3(2pic;afl).3(ca).3(Eb,bcl;bcl,cbcl).2(cbn)/4.3inC(pic).2.1btn.1/timp.4perc/pf.hp.cel(MIDI.Kbd)/str(12.10.8.8.6)
- SATB
- Mezzo Soprano, soprano, tenor, 2 baritones
- 1 hr 15 min
- Gene Scheer
- English
Programme Note
Everest, May 10-11, 1996: Bad weather has affected this year's climbing season, and now multiple expeditions are attempting to summit on the same day. A bottleneck of climbers at the notorious Hillary Step has delayed the progress of Rob Hall's group and he now finds himself near the top of the mountain with his client Doug Hansen, long after the agreed turnaround time has passed. Unbeknownst to the two mountaineers, a ferocious storm is brewing below. Meanwhile, further down the mountain, another of Rob's clients, Beck Weathers, lies unconscious as the storm rages around him.
SYNOPSIS
From the shadows of Mount Everest, the spirits of all those who have died attempting to reach the summit sing to Beck Weathers, who is unconscious on the mountain’s South Col. These ethereal spirits now turn their attention to Rob Hall, the expedition leader and guide, who is just reaching Everest’s highest peak at 2:30 p.m., thirty minutes past the safe turnaround time. Rob sees his client Doug Hansen a mere forty feet below.
The scene shifts back to Beck Weathers. In his unconscious, dreamlike state, he hallucinates that he is in his backyard enjoying a Texas barbecue. Beck holds court and begins to describe his experiences on Everest. Suddenly, from the edge of Beck’s consciousness, the voice of his daughter Meg sings to him.
As we see Rob straining to help Doug reach the summit, time stops and Doug sings an aria in which he describes the tormenting deep-seated obsession that has led him to this moment. As Rob takes a picture of Doug, Rob is jarred by the memory of taking pictures of his wife, Jan.
While Rob endeavors to get his client down from the summit of Everest, we see Beck, lying, delirious, on the South Col. Once again, his daughter calls out to him in vain. From the depths of his consciousness, ruminations on his struggle with profound depression slowly merge with the memory of the events that took place on the climb earlier that same day.
Rob is increasingly desperate. He has a disabled client on the top of the mountain as the storm begins raging around them both. Jan, Rob’s wife, is contacted and told of her husband’s life-threatening situation.
Beck, beginning to emerge from his coma, sees the climbers on the South Col huddling together in a frantic attempt to survive the storm. Beck’s internal soliloquy slowly allows him to make sense of what is happening, and to comprehend the cold, hard truth: he is dying.
In a quartet, Doug, Rob, Jan and Beck sing of their plight. As the quartet concludes, we see Rob desperately trying to get Doug to the South Summit, where he hopes they can make it through the night.
Beck has finally woken up to the harsh reality that if he is going to be saved, he will need to do it himself.
SYNOPSIS
From the shadows of Mount Everest, the spirits of all those who have died attempting to reach the summit sing to Beck Weathers, who is unconscious on the mountain’s South Col. These ethereal spirits now turn their attention to Rob Hall, the expedition leader and guide, who is just reaching Everest’s highest peak at 2:30 p.m., thirty minutes past the safe turnaround time. Rob sees his client Doug Hansen a mere forty feet below.
The scene shifts back to Beck Weathers. In his unconscious, dreamlike state, he hallucinates that he is in his backyard enjoying a Texas barbecue. Beck holds court and begins to describe his experiences on Everest. Suddenly, from the edge of Beck’s consciousness, the voice of his daughter Meg sings to him.
As we see Rob straining to help Doug reach the summit, time stops and Doug sings an aria in which he describes the tormenting deep-seated obsession that has led him to this moment. As Rob takes a picture of Doug, Rob is jarred by the memory of taking pictures of his wife, Jan.
While Rob endeavors to get his client down from the summit of Everest, we see Beck, lying, delirious, on the South Col. Once again, his daughter calls out to him in vain. From the depths of his consciousness, ruminations on his struggle with profound depression slowly merge with the memory of the events that took place on the climb earlier that same day.
Rob is increasingly desperate. He has a disabled client on the top of the mountain as the storm begins raging around them both. Jan, Rob’s wife, is contacted and told of her husband’s life-threatening situation.
Beck, beginning to emerge from his coma, sees the climbers on the South Col huddling together in a frantic attempt to survive the storm. Beck’s internal soliloquy slowly allows him to make sense of what is happening, and to comprehend the cold, hard truth: he is dying.
In a quartet, Doug, Rob, Jan and Beck sing of their plight. As the quartet concludes, we see Rob desperately trying to get Doug to the South Summit, where he hopes they can make it through the night.
Beck has finally woken up to the harsh reality that if he is going to be saved, he will need to do it himself.
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Reviews
Everest is a musically stunning, cinematically thrilling opera- tenets long held by the art form, but updated here for a new generation, and updated brilliantly’
4th February 2015
A resounding success, a genre-bending coup de théâtre
4th February 2015
Gripping, edge of your seat story-telling, stunning, innovative...if you want to see where opera is headed in the 21st-century, don't miss this production.
4th February 2015
The Dallas Opera scored a minor coup and a mighty one...rival's great legitimate theatre in its impact
3rd February 2015
Everest grounds its story in real human feeling. By eliciting sympathy for its four central figures (Hall, his wife, Jan, and two of the climbers, Doug Hanson and Beck Weathers), it also creates real suspense: we care enough about these people to wish for their survival, even as we see fate moving inexorably against them. Talbot uses a shimmering orchestral fabric to move his musical argument forward…
30th January 2015
A stirring score on top of a masterful libretto...It is easy to image Everest as a lasting work
30th January 2015
More Info
- New opera from Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer
- 7th July 2023
- UK premiere of the opera Everest by composer Joby Talbot and librettist Gene Scheer will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.