Mabel Stark: Tiger Tamer
A life in song
Music by Jonathan Cooper; words by Barb Jungr
For mezzo-soprano, four male singers, flute, clarinet, string quintet and piano.
A song cycle telling the real life story of one of the twentieth century’s greatest female circus performers, Mabel Stark. Rising through the ranks of the circus from exotic dancer to star turn, Mabel Stark becomes a world-renowned big cat trainer, performing with lions, tigers and even the odd panther. Mabel was outspoken, irascible, moody and often unpredictable but irresistible to men, rapidly going through a succession of husbands. But the real constant in her life is Rajah, a magnificent male Bengal tiger. This version of Mabel’s life features a male chorus alongside Mabel (mezzo-soprano) and is based on a series of letters Mabel wrote to a potential biographer.
With original development support from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Greenwich Theatre, Nitro, and the Royal & Derngate Theatres.
You can listen here to excerpts from the song cycle recorded live during workshops with the following performers:
2011: Simon Burke, Michael Rouse, Hal Fowler, Mark Dickinson, Kevin Walton, Liza Sadovy, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Cathy Jayes (MD), John-Paul Gandy (piano).
2009: MA students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama.
2008: Jonathan Storey, Jacob Chapman, Michael Rouse, Kevin Walton, Barb Jungr, Jonathan Cooper (piano).
Please contact Jonathan Cooper or Barb Jungr for further information.
