By Anna Pidgorna | For Soprano and Piano | From the opera Plaything | 10′

For more information about perusal scores, rentals, or wholesale/bulk discounts, please contact us.

For more information about our order process for print and PDF purchases, check out our FAQ page.

Synopsis of Plaything:

After leaking damning information on their government, the Hacker has found refuge in a
foreign embassy. One step outside and Hacker would be arrested. As months and years pass, Hacker fears the public has forgotten this fateful sacrifice. One day, Madame Suzuki, a talking parrot and social media sensation, comes to the window. The Hacker captures Parrot and uses the bird as a PR tool to regain the attention of journalists and fans worldwide. Tensions soon arise between human and bird over their new empire. What is true freedom and what does it cost? Parrot cleverly manipulates the increasingly crazed Hacker to leap out of the window in the name of freedom, lording over the embassy room in peace.

Scene 4: What am I?
Having trapped Parrot, Hacker displays the bird in front of the paparazzi in order to reignite interest in their own cause. To hide Parrot’s origins and true identity—and to plant the idea of their release—Hacker changes Parrot’s name from Madam Suzuki to Amnesty, establishing control over the bird by drilling the new name. Parrot performs the aria “What am I?” at night while Hacker sleeps, following an episode with the paparazzi. Parrot sings and squawks in a half-dream state telling its story through snippets of imitated text and sounds picked up from its environment.

Commission/Dedication: Plaything was commissioned and developed by Musique 3 Femmes through the Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes Prize.
Premiere: Plaything was premiered and produced by Musique 3 Femmes in September 2022 at Ufafabrik in Berlin. North American premiere by McGill Opera in Montreal, November 2022.