Hinterkaifeck

Abstract

The chamber opera Hinterkaifeck was created to explore the nature of true crime stories through the lens of music. The source material is based on the 1922 murder of the Gruber-Gabriel family in Bavaria, Germany. The factual events were changed for two primary reasons: 1.) Some elements of the story were so serendipitous that they risked being unbelievable, and 2.) several dramatic considerations required alterations to the material. The compositional approach for the opera was heavily inspired by Wozzeck by Alban Berg, Salomè by Richard Strauss, and Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy. Hinterkaifeck's structure takes cues from Wozzeck and draws on examples of thematic development found in Salomè. Pelléas et Mélisande provides a template for the motivic setting of character names. The libretto was created first as a script for a play, with extraneous dialogue exploring how the characters might interact. This text was then whittled down to more concise statements that could be set to the vocal lines more effectively. Hinterkaifeck's score requires nine principal vocalists and additional chorus members. The principal singers also join the chorus in certain scenes. Multiple vocal techniques were employed to craft the sung material, including open-vowel singing, nasal humming, and improvised pitch selection. The latter is primarily featured in the score's recitative, allowing the singers to choose from a specific set of pitches to form unique melodic lines. Other instances of recitative involve singing on a single pitch with free rhythm and, in rare cases, spoken dialogue. The accompaniment chosen for the work is a string quartet with live electronics. The string players enact contrasting textures, such as strumming and harmonics, while the electronics provide manipulated sound effects and musical support. The result is an opera score full of changing timbres, unexpected sounds, and heightened drama.