The Halloween Tree
Available for Production
INSTRUMENTATION
25 Players
Fl. (Picc.), Ob. (corA.), Cl., Bsn. / Hn., Tpt., Tbn., Tba / Hp., Pno. (Kbd. Samples: El. Pno, Hpd, Cel, El. Org), Gtr. (dbl El Grt. & El. Bs.) / Perc. [Timp (32'' and 29''), Chm, Glsp, Sus. Cym, SD, Tgl, Tamb, Cow Bell; Bowed Waterphone] / Strings (3.3.3.2.2 – Db.s w C-ext)
CHORUS
SATB – 24 Singers Minimum
ROLES
7 Singers (all adults)
PIPKIN (Tenor) - a boy of 12 or 13. He is everyone’s favorite kid.
TOM (Baritone) - a boy of 12 or 13. Mexican-American. He is Pipkin’s best friend.
KELLY (Mezzo-Soprano) - a very athletic and scrappy tomboy. Same age as Tom and Pipkin.
J.J. (Baritone) A timid youth of the same age. J.J. is a mummy for Halloween every year.
LYNN (Coloratura Soprano) The brainiac know-it-all of the group.
LENNY (High Tenor)– Lynn’s brother, is a few years younger.
MOUNDSHROUD (Bass) – Part crypt keeper and part Willy Wonka. He is not human, though not entirely un-human either. The extent of his supernatural abilities is not known, but the laws of physics and time don’t apply to him.
DURATION
110’
Two Acts with One Intermission
HISTORY
Commission by ALT: April 2015
Libretto Workshop & Reading: October 2015
Public reading part of the The Living Libretto series
Piano/Vocal Workshop & Public Concert: October 2016
Public reading part of the InsightALT series
Revision Workshop: October 2018
Orchestral Workshop & Public Concert: February 2020
Public reading as part of the InsightALT series
“…a spooky, fast-paced tale of time travel as entertaining as it was educational…The locales that the children visit – Ancient Egypt, Stonehenge, Notre-Dame de Paris and Mexico – inspired Popov to create a score rich in musical color and exoticism… Combine all of that with vocal lines that are tuneful and fit the voice, and it’s clear that Popov and Asaro know a thing or two about opera and how to engage an audience.”
Led by a mysterious guide, a group of children undertake an unforgettable journey to find their friend Pipkin, who has disappeared on Halloween night. Through their search, the children learn about the cultural and historical traditions that have led to the contemporary celebration of Halloween today. This magical, evening-length, family-friendly opera is an idea presentation for the Halloween season!
Synopsis
Act 1
In a small American town, a group of adolescents set out in costume for a grisly and gripping Halloween night of trick-or-treating and macabre mayhem. But one of their friends is missing: Pipkin, the greatest boy who ever lived. They find him at his house, ill and unable to join them now but eager to meet up later at the haunted house far down along the ravine.
The House of Haunts is frightening and otherworldly, complete with a tree full of singing jack-o-lanterns, and an equally otherworldly host: Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who likes to choose tricks over treats. Moundshroud informs the children that Pipkin is in grave danger; that they have until midnight to save him. They must go on a journey through time and space, visiting distant lands in ancient times, overcoming obstacles, warding off danger, and gathering talismans.
The children are transported to Ancient Egypt to retrieve a black cat, the first talisman. J.J., who is dressed as a mummy, has an encyclopedic knowledge of Ancient Egypt, and guides his friends through a mummy’s tomb. Inside, he spots a black cat idol and inadvertently sets off a booby trap that causes the hieroglyphs on the wall to come to life. They pull him into an elaborate reenactment of the Osiris and Isis myth. The hieroglyphs process in with a child-sized sarcophagus, from which Pipkin cries out. The children try to save him, but the hieroglyphs freeze before they can get to him and the magic is over. Having found the black cat idol, the kids summon Mr. Moundshroud, who whisks them away to Celtic England, Stonehenge, to obtain a scythe.
A group of Celtic druids is chanting, preparing for a ritual harvest sacrifice at an altar adorned with an idol. They are about to sacrifice a child whom the kids recognize as Pipkin. Kelly, dressed as a scarecrow and looking a lot like the druids’ harvest god effigy, impetuously rushes to the altar and jumps on top. All druids drop prostrate in worship. The children remove the shroud, but instead of Pipkin they find harvest vegetables. Kelly then turns her focus to the praying druids, chastising them for sacrificing children. After the druids run off frightened, the kids summon Mr. Moundshroud. He sends them off to medieval France to retrieve a broom.
The children find themselves in a cabin in the woods where witches are practicing rituals around a giant cauldron. In the cauldron, of course, is Pipkin. The kids spot the broom hanging on the wall of the cabin. Lynn hatches a plan to use Lenny, even younger and fleshier than Pipkin, as bait to distract the witches. Then, as the witches leave the cauldron to get Lenny, J.J. and Kelly are to rescue Pipkin, and Tom is to grab the broom. Unfortunately, when Tom climbs on a table to get the broom, the table collapses causing a loud crash. The witches, alerted, capture everyone except Tom. He escapes from the cabin and tries to invoke Mr. Moundshroud, but Moundshroud does not come. Tom is alone and afraid.
Act II
In the middle of the forest, as he is frantically calling for Mr. Moundshroud, Tom comes upon the Halloween Tree. The jack-o-lanterns inform him that Moundshroud will not appear unless Tom has the broom. The boy breaks a branch off of the tree and ties some grass to it, successfully fabricating a proxy for the sweeping talisman. Moundshroud appears and is amused by Tom’s trick. He suggests they scare the witches off the same way humans have always chased away superstition – with religion! The two use magic to build a tower over all the land: the cathedral of Notre Dame. When Tom rings its bells, numerous gargoyles storm the grounds, chase the witches away, and climb the tower where they freeze for eternity.
The rescued children notice that one of the gargoyles looks remarkably like Pipkin. Tom attempts to climb the tower to the Pipkin gargoyle, when, suddenly, a lightning bolt strikes the creature and its broken face flies off into Lenny’s hands. Realizing they now have a mask, the fourth talisman, the kids summon Mr. Moundshroud, who cautions them that they’re running out of time and swiftly transports them to Mexico for Día de Los Muertos.
Tom, who is Mexican American, tells the children that on Día de los Muertos, the spirits of the dead visit the world of the living for a fun party. In search of a skull, the final talisman, the kids join the graveyard festivities and awkwardly chase around dancing skeleton spirits trying to remove one of their heads to no avail. A group of mourners carries in a child’s coffin. The children are afraid they are too late and have lost Pipkin to the other side. The woman at the head of the procession hands Tom a sugar skull and the kids summon Mr. Moundshroud.
The man instructs the children to quickly lay the talismans into the ground. But Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud has one final trick to play...
Media
Press
Materials
Libretto
Piano Vocal Score
Full Score
Interested in licensing this opera? Visit our Licensing and Materials page to start an inquiry!