LSD – Huxley's Last Trip (partial score of five scenes)
LSD – Huxley's Last Trip (partial score of five scenes)
(scroll down for score, video, and audio samples, and program notes)
7 singers: coloratura soprano, high lyric soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, baritone, bass-baritone
chamber ensemble (8 players): 2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass, harp, piano (d celesta), percussion
Partch microtonal instruments (6 players) - kithara, surrogate kithara, harmonic canon, diamond marimba, bass marimba, chromelodeon (synth may replace)
Libretto by Gerd Stern, Ed Rosenfeld, and Anne LeBaron
duration: 51:00
awarded initial support from Opera America’s Discovery Grant
currently in development - find details on the Opera page and at http://huxleyslasttrip.com/
Scene 1: Bicycle Day
Scene 2: MK-ULTRA
Scene 3: The Doors of Perception
Scene 4: Tim and Mary
Scene 5: Huxley’s Last Trip
These five scenes from LSD: Huxley’s Last Trip (originally entitled LSD: The Opera) have been performed in three workshops in Los Angeles. They comprise one-third of an opera that will chart the powerful cultural, political, and spiritual forces set into motion by Albert Hofmann’s discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide. Embodied by three sopranos, LSD embarks upon a trip of its own, encountering a diverse cast of characters known for their contributions to science, literature, publishing, intelligence, politics, and entertainment. Before LSD jump-started the counterculture movement, it was appropriated for nefarious uses by government agencies such as the CIA, and was later ostracized, demonized, and feared. Practically half a century had to pass before its value as a therapeutic agent in medical and psychiatric settings began to once again gain traction and respect. The panorama of dramatic events initiated by the appearance of LSD encompasses scientific discoveries, murders, CIA classified experiments, festivities, and extraordinary meetings of minds among iconic figures such as Aldous Huxley, Albert Hofmann, and Timothy Leary.