Pierrot Pieces

In 1999 I was asked to write 2 pieces for the graduation production of ENO’s singers’ course ‘The Knack’, from which I myself graduated in 1998.  This marked the start of a series of happy collaborations with composer Orlando Gough.

The main event on the programme was a staged production of Schoenberg’s ‘Pierrot Lunaire’, for which I collaborated with the celebrated singer and musician Mary King on a new translation from the German original.

The companion work was a new commission from Orlando Gough, ‘Pierrot: a Biography’ – a through-sung, a cappella ensemble piece telling the history of Pierrot and exploring the different facets of his character.

pale as the moon
mysterious as silence
supple and mute as the serpent
straight and tall as the gallows


ci-git un comedien
qui a tout dit
et qui n’a jamais parle