Majora's Mask Opera


80 posts in this topic

Posted

Wow, this sounds like a fascinating project. I think it's possible to get permission from Nintendo for something like this, since they have traditionally been pretty lenient towards fan projects.

You remind me of someone I know who wrote an opera about Dr. Seuss's The Lorax. I'm not sure whether he had to obtain rights to perform it, since it was a small production held on campus. He's been pretty busy last I heard, and doing more singing than composing lately, but if you want to look up his work he's a Canadian tenor named Isaiah Bell.

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Posted

I never said I was going to remove the 3-day limit to the play. To clarify, each act will be one day.

The post I wrote before this one explains how all of those ideas Chase mentioned can be included while at the same time imprinting Link's identity in the audience as an observer instead of an interactor.

What would be necessary to set things in motion would be giving Kafei a little push, so that he can act on his already-existing will to fulfill his promise of love. Kafei is merely misinformed in the game, not faithless or powerless. That little push, that little bit of early information for him to have is precisely what allows Link not to be there as a hero we just watch doing things, but as ourselves who grow more and more indignant at the unfairness of it all. It is not supposed to be a work to set minds at peace, but to shake them further into realizing how time is precious and how there is such a thing as too late.

All of Chase's ideas are there:

Remain steadfast and innocent: Kafei will know of and chase Sakon relentlessly everywhere.

Shed our masks: Kafei will overcome his shame and remove the Keaton's Mask.

Do the right thing regardless if it makes everyone happy, be a good friend to everyone, forgive your friends, believe in your friends, believe in yourself: All of these will be prominent in the story, since I can't just show Clock Town and Ikana Canyon. I'll have to have Kafei follow false or temporary leads into places where Sakon isn't anymore (or was never in) like the swamp, where he would meet some characters Link would have met, and attempt his best, as a mere Terminan (the point is making the word "mere" lose its strength), to help in order to be rewarded with Sakon's traveling whereabouts. I will obviously not have Kafei explore temples like Link or anything of the kind, that would just be replacing one thing with another, since I already explained how the way a game is built cannot be turned into an effective stage work without changing its "language".

Also, friendliness and belief will be underlined almost climatically as I want Kafei and the Happy Mask Salesman to temporarily act together, as one will need the other in a specific set of situations while being complete strangers to each other.

True love endures all things: Kafei knows the world will end. He does all of this for the sake of love. He will not mind dying in Anju's arms as they wed in private.

You can't save everyone: Precisely. You can't. Not even Kafei's single powerful act of purity could magically redeem a world. That's up to the Happy Mask Salesman to explain, as he exits the soon-to-be-destroyed Termina, and to leave the warning that there is always a reason to make things as good as you can, for if done by enough of the world, it sustains it from collapse, so you must never lose faith.

-----------------------------------------------------

Arachne: I have heard (of) Isaiah Bell indeed. I have to focus now on writing the work, first. This would only be effective as a big thing, so the phase after this would be trying to get as much support and resources as possible, possibly even from the ones who own Majora's Mask (lol, aiming high might one day kill me), by showing a powerful and well-built piece.

Chimetals: Sorry about the late response. Operation Moonfall might actually be a very good fanbase if directed towards this as a promotion of the love MM fans have for the title. Aiming absurdly high again, Zelda Williams (whom we know is a supporter of OMF) could also be an amazing spokesman.

None of this must be thought of, however, before the work is made. Order is absolutely necessary, and if I start putting things in front of each other I won't go anywhere.

P.S:: Another thing about Chase's idea of Link's growth: Making an opera where the character whose main transformation in personality (basically the main character) doesn't convey it through singing is absolutely counterproductive. That was my main issue, believe me. I have passed through that very same thought, and I've also weighed it against the sacrilegious act that would be giving Link spoken or sung discourse. In order to prevent that same growth to be removed from the story, as I already said, the role of Link would be passed on to an observing audience helplessly witnessing the lack of whatever good will they might wish on the world they are seeing. It is not meant as torture, but just as a drama used as a cautionary tale, because if the audience doesn't have those lessons in mind, they will at the end.

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Posted

I like the idea of Link no being there. Anything you do with Link will get the people divided. Not having Link at least will ensure he will be perserved while you can focus in bring out the vibrant deep part of Termina. The situations that really hit us deeply.

I am not sure what to think of Kafei being the one with the Happy Mask salesman in the center roles bringing the thing together, like through the fake leads.

I am sure you have put a lot of thought. Little I know of plays but I can understand, or at least grasp the idea of what you mean about adapting it. Movies need to change from book to en capsule the important things and keep the essence of the character without the second or third stories. I am sure taking a game for a play it is a gigantic task and it is great you are taking it slow and methodically. I really want to see how far you can push your idea. It sounds good, very good.

I like the idea of the hero being absent and the moon falling, I like the idea of being another focus to the tale we know, something different, something in a way new for people that has played MM as well. I am just concerned how will you make Kafei fills the traveller role without making the other character and place apparitions feel like a forced filler... Do you plan have unconnected characters in your play? Like for example Mikau dying alone after failing to retrieve her fiance's eggs?

What characters would you definitely make appear in the play?

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Posted

So far, the characters I've determined are necessary as soloists (meaning they can be either dancers or singers, and that the choir can include most remaining characters depending on the place they are in) are:

Happy Mask Salesman

Skull Kid/Majora

Kafei

Anju

Sakon

Mayor Dotour

Mutoh

Viscen

Postman

The Jugglers

Guru-Guru

Professor Shikashi

Monkey

Deku King

Deku Princess

Odolwa

Old Lady from Bomb Shop

Darmani

Kamaro

Mikau

Fisherman

Aveil

Pamela

Pamela's Father

Sharp

Igos du Ikana

Garo Master

Knowing I've built the structure so far to include long stretches of time between some characters, it is very easy for a change of clothing to happen and for the same singer to interpret two or even three similar characters in attitude and voice register.

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Posted

For the final act with Kafei as the main character, you could have him be with Anju and the world crashing down around them. In the last few seconds, he chooses to die with his love instead of going back in time.

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Posted

How on earth would Kafei be able to go back in time?

I don't think you understood that I am not putting Kafei in Link's role. Kafei is Kafei. I'll just need a little push to make him search for Sakon earlier on and go to more places than just Ikana.

Regardless, thanks for the suggestion, yet the ending has been defined in my head for quite a while (I usually start with the ending).

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Posted

Little orchestration experiment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzvtayc0y9w

So far, it's just the original theme, although I already wrote sung interventions in a slightly longer version of this, which I obviously cannot deliver until I manage to gather some singers to record and deliver a sample or two of what I intend, musically.

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Posted

So where did you learn to use DAW's like that? I've been struggling for a while to get on my feet with Logic Pro.

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Posted

I don't use DAWs or sequencers. xD

I record directly from the score composing program, Finale, with VST samples. The first thing is knowing orchestration theory itself. The rest is technical: Channels associated to staves, obeying the MIDI input of the written notes and a LOT of tiresome tweaking with expressions, dynamics, etc, in the program, so the score for the VSTs isn't the same as the score for the actual live performing orchestra (to think I'll have to clean the score of the entire opera after I'm done gives me a headache xD).

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Posted

Merry Christmas, people!

I come to show signs of activity and inform you that I have completed the first half-hour of the opera, and that you should expect samples with actual vocals somewhere in January.

For now, I give you instrumental samples from several parts of the still unfinished Act I.

Keep in mind that they're mostly just orchestrations of original themes because the real development usually happens with the singers (which is usually where I cut between the themes here, because there is no actual voice sound but a digital instrument emulating it, and we all know how those suck).

The only thing mildly "developed" in this sample is the superimposition of a modified Kafei and Anju's marriage theme (will be used as the leitmotif for their hope) on the Astral Observatory theme, along with some quotes from the Song of Healing (leitmotif for promisekeeping and obviously the Happy Mask Salesman).

By the way, for those who enjoyed my website's music, I only recently noticed my media players in the site's Works section were all down. I've put in new ones and there's much more music to listen to in that section than the 9 sample tracks on the home page.

Kaynil likes this

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Posted

There is a lot more symbolism related to masks than the ones linked to interaction. A list of reactions to masks would make it rather sequential and predictable. The HMS develops a lot on the subject of masks as the story goes on, and I would even say the way the opera is structured allows for the use of masks to extend outside the story being told, to the way it is being told. I'm sorry about the vagueness of that last one, but it's something that is better understood only when seen. xD

Also, the two parallel quests for two completely different kinds of masks (along with Kafei's use of the Keaton Mask to hide) allow for thoughts about them to keep appearing.

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Posted

Do you, now?

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Posted

Here's an instrumental for a dance sequence. It's a battle that happens between the Deku and Odolwa. It might sound strange, yes, but all I can say so far is that in the story it is a consequence of giving Kafei a boost in his search for the Sun Mask.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgVAt2en6Ek

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Posted

Here's an instrumental for the short celebration after Odolwa falls to the Deku, interrupted by the appearance of the Giant that is freed as a consequence.

Everything that follows is the background instrumental for the Giant's aria, so pardon the repetitiveness, since there are words to be sung over it.

It develops into other harmonies past the middle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW4h4EQLUic

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Posted

Just informing that the vocal samples will be late. I had said they would appear somewhere in January.

Well, it seems the date we managed to set up for ONE (hopefully two) of the recordings is two Sundays from now.

So... sorry about the wrong prediction.

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