River Lavalle

90% of New Zealand's lowland rivers and almost 50% of its lakes are polluted. River Lavalle is a chamber opera presented as a 1940s style radio play detective story with an underlying environmental theme written by Fiona Farrell and Chris Adams. 

Who has abducted River Lavalle? Was it the political indifference in the figure of Joe Politico? Or careless, exploitative farming in the person of Billy Kaukowski? Or the reckless consumption of resources personified by Bubbles Van Dam? And does River still wait somewhere in the shadows, ready to return? 

In this aria, Monica Lavalle is appealing to Sam Stone, a private investigator, to find her daughter.

I Need Your Assistance from "River Lavalle"

90% of New Zealand's lowland rivers and almost 50% of its lakes are polluted. River Lavalle is a chamber opera presented as a 1940s style radio play detective story with an underlying environmental theme written by Fiona Farrell and Chris Adams.

Who has abducted River Lavalle? Was it the political indifference in the figure of Joe Politico? Or careless, exploitative farming in the person of Billy Kaukowski? Or the reckless consumption of resources personified by Bubbles Van Dam? And does River still wait somewhere in the shadows, ready to return?

In this aria, Monica Lavalle is describing her daughter and lamenting her disappearance. 

Her Name Is River from River Lavalle

90% of New Zealand's lowland rivers and almost 50% of its lakes are polluted. River Lavalle is a chamber opera presented as a 1940s style radio play detective story with an underlying environmental theme written by Fiona Farrell and Chris Adams.

Who has abducted River Lavalle? Was it the political indifference in the figure of Joe Politico? Or careless, exploitative farming in the person of Billy Kaukowski? Or the reckless consumption of resources personified by Bubbles Van Dam? And does River still wait somewhere in the shadows, ready to return?

This is Bubbles Van Dam's aria "I wanna be."

I Wanna Be from River Lavalle

90% of New Zealand's lowland rivers and almost 50% of its lakes are polluted. River Lavalle is a chamber opera presented as a 1940s style radio play detective story with an underlying environmental theme written by Fiona Farrell and Chris Adams.

Who has abducted River Lavalle? Was it the political indifference in the figure of Joe Politico? Or careless, exploitative farming in the person of Billy Kaukowski? Or the reckless consumption of resources personified by Bubbles Van Dam? And does River still wait somewhere in the shadows, ready to return?

Joe Politico's role is for an actor (a non-singing role). This is Joe Politico's "aria" - Bureaucratic Dream.

Bureaucratic Dream from River Lavalle

Chris Adams (1979-) is a New Zealand composer and is the Head of Music at The Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School in Christchurch. He was the Mozart Fellow (2010-2011) at the University of Otago and the Auckland Philharmonia’s Composer in Residence (2009). Chris was the inaugural Artist in Residence at the Pah Homestead from July to September, 2010, a position he held again for a further three months in 2011.

River Lavalle

Chris Adams Composer