The Parrot Factory (2010)
(an Opera for all ages in 1 Act)

Having taken 10 years to write our first opera, 18 months didn't seem a long time to come up with a second. It is ostensibly a children's opera, but we always wanted to write a piece that operated on more than one level, engaging an adult audience at the same time. The result was a fantastical world of hidden diamonds, hot air balloons and talking birds, which also dramatised adult concerns such as freedom and control, emotional honesty and the compromises we must negotiate between respect for the environment and the role of money in our lives.

People sometimes ask what comes first - the words or the music? We usually start with a story and the characters that drive it. The words are always first, though as we get deeper into a work the music increasingly suggests additional (or more commonly, fewer) words. It's a collaborative artistic tango which results in a true 'musical drama' - an opera.

We would especially like to thank Frederick and Mary Davidson for their profound generosity in commissioning a totally new opera and to Richard Gill for leading a company with the courage and foresight to promote new Australian work. We hope you enjoy The Parrot Factory.

Stuart Greenbaum (composer)

Ross Baglin (librettist)

scene 1: that’s why your parrot was stolen
Morning. Filbert and Elizabeth are pasting posters in the street from opposite sides.  His posters seek the owner of a parrot called Cherubino, while hers seek the same parrot, which she believes stolen. They collide and Filbert – a veterinary detective – relates that her parrot was owned by an old widow called Lady Fossett, who taught it (with three others) the location of valuable jewels. All four Fossett parrots have now been stolen.

scene 2: there’s money in birds
Reception desk at the Fossett carpet factory. Tranh, a courier, arrives and makes Gina curious about recent events. Her boyfriend Jimmy arrives and Gina confronts him about the accounts. Jimmy reveals that they are struggling to pay debts on the factory, and that he can make money from trading birds he keeps out back. He unveils a ‘valuable’ parrot, Cherubino, and slides him into the aviary, which lights up.  A chorus of parrots sing a deluded dirge about being happy in the parrot factory. Jimmy pledges to the unconvinced Gina that he needs two more nights to finish a deal, and can then cease trading.

scene 3: I’ve got a balloon to catch
Night. Tranh is taking down the ‘wanted’ posters. He is fond of Jimmy, who helped him after his immigration, and he’s surmised that Jimmy is out of his depth. He hides as Gina enters and sees Elizabeth’s posters.  She also hides as Filbert and Elizabeth enter. Elizabeth reveals that the thief left $200 behind. Tranh and Gina separately overhear this.  Filbert says he can get her parrot back. Elizabeth asks about his balloon and the two ponder what they would see if looking at the ground from above. Filbert leaves and Gina reveals herself to Elizabeth. She says that she can get Cherubino for her. Elizabeth is suspicious but they arrange to meet the next night.

scene 4: a cage of debt
The next day. Jimmy calls a ‘Mr. Vogelfang’ to exchange Cherubino for two very rare glaucous macaws. Gina interrupts and again questions his dealings. Jimmy reveals his poor childhood and fear of poverty. Cherubino “mocks” Jimmy inadvertently with memorised phrases and he chases the ‘stupid bird’ out of sight. As Cherubino runs back onstage ahead of Jimmy, Gina switches him for a stuffed bird from the reception area. Gina exits and Jimmy, thinking he is alone in the reception room, whistles a short tune to unlock a wall safe.  As he leaves, Cherubino, in the birdcage, repeats the code.

scene 5: diamonds!!
Night.  Elizabeth is waiting for Gina. She arrives but without Cherubino and Elizabeth is angry. Gina queries Elizabeth about what Cherubino ‘says’ and, realising the connection with diamonds, she excitedly rushes with Elizabeth to the Fossett factory to quiz Cherubino further.

scene 6: sing through the bars
Filbert, on a hill overlooking the town, is despondent about Elizabeth’s disappearance and his inability to find the stolen bird. Meanwhile, Gina lets Elizabeth into the factory but hurries her out the back as she thinks Jimmy is coming. Elizabeth takes a wrong turn and becomes trapped in the aviary, where she teaches the birds a song about freedom in place of their dirge. Gina, outside and unaware of Elizabeth’s situation, reveals her fears for Jimmy and their relationship, then leaves. Elizabeth remembers the balloons Filbert gave her, and flies them through a vent in the aviary. Filbert sees this signal from afar and makes a dash for the Fossett factory.

scene 7: I must choose
Cherubino whistles the code for the safe lock and Gina finds it open with a lot of money inside. Tranh has also discovered a rare bird in a packing crate, and together they confront Jimmy, who realises he must choose between Gina and financial security. As he appears ready to leave Gina, Jimmy suddenly throws open the aviary gate and sweeps the birds to freedom. The parrots sing a final freedom chorus and they all depart leaving Filbert, Cherubino and Elizabeth. Filbert decodes Cherubino’s clue but finds, to his consternation, that the diamonds are not there. Elizabeth reveals them, having found them earlier when releasing the balloons through the vent. She asks that some diamonds be sent to Jimmy to pay off the factory.