Casting & Staging

Lead roles

• Katrina Van Tassle. Soprano; age 18; the object of Ichabod Crane’s attentions.
• Ichabod Crane. Heldentenor; age 35; singing instructor and school teacher.
• Brom Bones. Baritone; age 18; Katrina’s love interest who rides with a band of men who protect the town from outsiders.
• Brouwer. Bass; town elder who encountered the Headless Horseman as a young man.
• Lute player. Lyric tenor; a spirit who sings warnings to Ichabod throughout.

Scenes

The opera has 7 scenes. Each scene requires only one set. Scenes I and IV use the same set, Scenes III, VI & VII use the same set. The scenes are:

• Inside the church at Sleepy Hollow
• A picnic at the outskirts of town
• In the haunted woods
• Inside the church at Sleepy Hollow
• A dance at Baltus Van Tassle’s mansion
• In the haunted woods where Crane is chased by the Horseman in dramatic fashion.
• In the haunted woods. The finale as townspeople search for Ichabod Crane.

Supporting Roles

• Stefana. Mezzo soprano; often seen in the company of Katrina.
• Maria. Mezzo soprano; companion of Katrina.
• Vandersteen. Baritone; town blacksmith.
• Baltus Van Tassle. Bass; farmer, respected elder and Katrina’s wealthy father.
• Joeri. Tenor; fills smaller roles; yodels.
• Van Ripper. a local farmer.
• Children. Small choruses appear throughout.
• Minister. Tenor; minor role.
• Rough Riders. Four horsemen.
• Chorus. 25-30 members, but can scale to venue/budget.

Orchestra

• Standard symphonic orchestra.
• Sizing of orchestra can be scaled to venue and artistic requirements.
• The orchestration features a soaring horn solo in the overture.

Piano Score

A piano score for the opera is available for use in rehearsals.