Think Why I Chase You (from “The Laurels”)

Instrumentation Baritone and piano

Vocal Range Bb2 to Ab4

Timing ca. 1’15”

Composed 2001

Libretto by Michael Lewis MacLennan

Programme Notes

Think Why I Chase You is The Stranger’s aria from the opera The Laurels. In this psychological thriller, Laurel, running through a large city park at night, is chased by a male Stranger. We are initially invited to see the Stranger as a dangerous stalker and to “read” the woman as a helpless victim. In the course of the story, however, clues are slipped which suggest that the victim isn’t so innocent. As this aria begins, The Stranger has come up behind Laurel, who knows he is there but will not turn to look at him. The Stranger entreats her, reaches out to her, and assures her as friend, not foe, but to Laurel his words are a sinister, taunting dance of seduction.

The original opera The Laurels was commissioned by Tapestry New Opera Works with the generous assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and New Op Angel: Ernest Balmer.

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