Music Clips

We are engaging internationally seasoned singers to record excerpts from the opera. We expect initial recordings to be available soon and will post them here when ready.

First, consider the 3-minute prologue which introduces the opera and its characters.

Next, dive into some of major selections of music from the opera. Orchestra and voices are simulated with audio samples. The video is of select portions of the musical score so you can see music as it is played.

Note:

In Washington Irving's 1820 published book about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, he excellently depicted Ichabod Crane fleeing from a headless horseman in the woods. Irving hinted that the horseman was Brom Bones in disguise, therefore relegating the story to that of a humorous myth.

The composer and his wife made many trips to Sleepy Hollow, New York, to learn the background of this story before creating an opera out of it. They learned from the historians, who were life-long residents of the village, that the people of the 1790s feared the monster in the woods. It was not a joke to them. Therefore Mr. Milne based his opera on the beliefs of the villagers of the era rather than the book that was written some 25 years after Mr. Irving briefly visited their locale.

Note:

In Washington Irving's 1820 published book about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, he excellently depicted Ichabod Crane fleeing from a headless horseman in the woods. Irving hinted that the horseman was Brom Bones in disguise, therefore relegating the story to that of a humorous myth.

The composer and his wife made many trips to Sleepy Hollow, New York, to learn the background of this story before creating an opera out of it. They learned from the historians, who were life-long residents of the village, that the people of the 1790s feared the monster in the woods. It was not a joke to them. Therefore Mr. Milne based his opera on the beliefs of the villagers of the era rather than the book that was written some 25 years after Mr. Irving briefly visited their locale.

In the Prologue, you will meet the main characters of the opera. Some, such as Dietrich Brouwer, Katrina Van Tassle, Baltus Van Tassle, Abraham Van Brunt (Brom Bones), and others, were real people living in the village at the time. Others, such as Vandersteen (the blacksmith), were added for storyline and vocal effect. And, of course, Sleepy Hollow did indeed have a blacksmith in town during those years.

The Overture consists of haunting voices singing from back in the woods, while a wild horn call becomes the calling card of the Horseman.

(Addendum: Robert Milne was a virtuoso horn player in his youth, playing with several major symphonies on the east coast before becoming a pianist. He says the wild horn solo is taken from his "warm up exercises" during morning practice sessions.)

Scene I opens with the singing of the final hymn at the Sunday morning church service. As Katrina sings lead, Ichabod is admonishing the choir to "stand up straight," "Project!", and dominating orders of the like.

Ichabod, the voice teacher of the Hollow, uses the excuse of a "singing lesson" to intercept Katrina on the lawn following the church service. His overbearing style becomes obvious at the beginning of the opera, setting the stage for his pompousness and arrogance throughout the entire production. During the lesson we see that Katrina is better than he is.

In the Flower Song, Ichabod is wondering what foppish finery to wear to the church picnic in about an hour. A spirit from the woods suddenly appears in front of Die Musikante. Ichabod makes fun of him as if he's some sort of lower being. But the spirit has come to warn Ichabod to beware of chasing women who belong to others. The spirit sings in parables, referring to "flowers" when he references young frauen. The whole thing goes over Ichabod's head.

Scene II is the church picnic. Katrina is carrying turkey dinners to everyone, but the people are complaining about her boyfriend, Brom Bones. Suddenly the spirit appears at the back of the stage and begins strumming his lute. Mr. Milne wrote Katrina's part, Brom Bones' part, and the lute part all in different meters to create a beautiful love song, while recognizing the unearthly presence among them at the same time.

In Scene III Ichabod, while singing about "his love" (Katrina), encounters the spirit a 3rd time out in the woods. This time the spirit's warning is a little more direct, but once again fails to register on the egocentric Ichabod.

The Last Carousel is a dance to celebrate the harvest feast at Baltus Van Tassle's mansion during Scene VI. Katrina is dancing with her father, but Ichabod bursts through the place and steals her away from him. Brom Bones starts going crazy on the side lines, requiring others to contain him. Vandersteen finally rescues Katrina from Ichabod and hands her back to her father.