This is the Song of the Man-Thing Act III opening chorus with the accompaniment that has been composed so far. The music sets the opening pages of Man-Thing for SATB chorus and piano (eventually full orchestra). The text (not in the recording) is by John Marc DeMatteis from Man-Thing (vol. 3) #1 (December 1997), owned by Marvel comics. Music composed in 2011.

Act III Introduction Work In Progress (MIDI piano only)

After the overture, which will feature some aria melodies once written, is the conclusion of the Prologue, sung by Madam Swabada (mezzo-soprano), Ted Sallis (baritone), and Ellen Brandt (mezzo-soprano). The text (not included) is by Steve Gerber (through measure 14), from Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 (August 1975), and Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, from Savage Tales #1 (May 1971), and is owned by Marvel Comics.

Prologue Part II (MIDI piano only)

MIDI piano version of the Prologue from my opera, Song of the Man-Thing. The rights to the text, by Steve Gerber, from Giant-Size Man-Thing #5, have yet to be obtained. Music composed in 2012.  It is sung by Ellen Brant (mezzo-soprano) and Madam Swabada (mezzo-soprano).  This has some rhythmic corrections that supersede the previous version I posted.

Prologue: May 1, 1971 (MIDI Piano Only)

Soprano aria from my work-in-progress opera, Song of the Man-Thing,

Having encountered rock star Eugene "the Star" Spangler in Ted Sallis's shack, Astrid Josefsen, alerts him that her grandfather (Josefsen) has him near the top of his kill list and the story behind why.  Another example of a character extensively quoting someone the opposite gender, which carries some thematic weight given the opera's conclusion.

This is one of the most difficult arias to compose.  Conceptually, the idea is to have Spangler and his band rudely interrupt Astrid with their rock music as she sings.  Currently, with little of the accompaniment completed, these intrusions are mostly limited to the few arpeggiations you hear.  plus the bit at the end that is intended to be an inept electric guitar quotation of the theme from Krull by James Horner, an in-joke as she mentions the murder of rock guitarist Jamie Horner, the details of which are omitted but appear in the original in The Man-Thing #16 (April 1975).  The text is by Steve Gerber. The music was composed in 2009.

Some its of the vocal line probably need to be taken down an octave, but it will probably be easiest to determine what is too high by working with an actual soprano.  At the time I was composing this, the orchestration material I was looking at did not distinguish between a range for soprano singing of text versus vocalizing, and differentiating pitch from timbre with women's voices is a bit more difficult for me, so some of the most intense parts could well be too high.

Astrid Josefsen Aria Work In Progress (MIDI piano only)

Glam-rock star Eugene "The Star" Spangler responds to Astrid's story about her grandfather with an absurd story about his mother being a hunting dog, and his father may have been either a parakeet commander or a Nazi submarine commander called Baron von Dupnik (stuff like this really means keeping it in-period).  Star Spangler was likely inspired by David Bowie and Alice Cooper, but musically, I heard him a bit like Geddy Lee (especially on "The Temples of Syrinx) with a bit of Mark Hamill's Joker.  The performer need not have an opera background or sound like an operatic tenor (and probably ought to sound more like a rock singer, even in the quartet that comes a bit later), although the music is a bit more complex than rock.  It remains a work in progress.  The music was composed in 2009 to text by Steve Gerber from The Man-Thing #16 (April 1975).  The last line is Astrid again shouting, "Ooh, you're impossible!"  He hasn't taken her warning a bit seriously, which is soon to have dire consequences for him.

Eugene "The Star" Spangler Aria Work In Progress (MIDI Piano Only)

Contralto arietta for Dr, Wilma Calvin in my opera, Song of the Man-Thing.  The text (not included but in the image) is by Len Wein.  Originally written for Savage Tales #2 (probably intended for release in July 1971--Savage Tales #2 was not released until cover date October 1973, by which time most of the originally intended content had been published elsewhere), it was first published in Astonishing Tales #12 (June 1972). Dr. Barbara Morse (soprano) tries to get Dr. Wilma Calvin (contralto), an elderly African-America scientist called a witch-woman by the locals, to stay away from the newly appeared Man-Thing, but she approaches him, convinced that he is the biochemist Ted Sallis with whom she works, having emerged when Sallis disappeared.  A redneck rifleman (bass) hired by Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) shoots her in the back as she tries to connect with the man inside him.

Len Wein (1948-2017), an extremely prolific comics writer, is best known as the writer who co-created Swamp Thing, along with Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus of the X-Men, as well as the character model for DC's version of Cain, who hosted The House of Mystery and was a major supporting character in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.  In addition, he was the editor of The Man-Thing from issues #15-22, and Steve Gerber's monologue in the final issue (which is the basis of his aria at the end of Act II) is addressed as a letter to him.

The first issue of Swamp Thing, by Wein, is cover dated October/November 1972, meaning he had to be familiar with the Man-Thing's origin before then as author of this story.  The origin of the Alec Holland Swamp Thing, who first appeared in that issue, bears a closer similarity to the Man-Thing's origin than it does to the original Alex Olsen Swamp Thing, a character set in 1905 introduced (also written by Wein) in The House of Secrets #92 (July 1971), and later reintroduced by Alan Moore in Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #47 (August 1986) as the only member of the Parliament of Trees who still speaks rather than communicates via telepathy, after having been incorporated into the mythos in #33 (February 1985). As one of ten stories running approximately one-third of an issue Wein wrote for The House of Secrets, it's pretty safe to say that The Man-Thing, always intended as an ongoing character, was both created and published before Swamp Thing, but of course having been preceded by Theodore Sturgeon's short story, "It!" (published in the August 1940 issue of the science fiction magazine, Unknown) and in Hillman Publications "The Heap" feature in Air Fighters Comics/Airboy Comics from December 1942 to the final issue in April 1952 (and revived by Eclipse Comics from 1986-1989), who was even occasionally called "man-thing" as an epithet,

Dr. Wilma Calvin Arietta and Scene Work In Progress (MIDI piano only)

Zhered-Na brings Ted Sallis to Spyros (bass), a hooded figure standing on a matrix who reveals himself to be Adam (also known throughout Act II as K'Ad-mon), claiming Ted as a direct descendant.  Based on material from Marvel Spotlight #17 by Steve Gerber (September 1974) and John Marc DeMatteis's Man-Thing (vol. 3) #7-8 (1998), adapted by Scott Andrew Hutchins. Music composed in 2011.

Spyros Work In Progress (MIDI piano only)

Immediately following Dakimh's aria and immediately preceding Korrek's aria, in this scene, Dakimh invites Jennifer Kale to be his apprentice.  She asks Grandpa Joshua if it's OK, and he elects not to deny her if it is what she truly wants--after all Dakimh is 20,000 years old, as he reveals in this scene, and is the earliest disciple of their religion--the Cult of Zhered-Na (an Atlantean monotheistic faith named for its prophet), and their goal is to save the world from an invasion by demons that has already begun.  At the end of the scene, as in the image text, younger brother Andy wonders why he doesn't get to save the world.  The music as it currently stands was composed in 2012.  The text is by Steve Gerber from Fear #19 (December 1973), published by Marvel Comics.  Jennifer is based on Steve's friend, Jennifer Meyer, and Zhered-Na is based on Steve's then-girlfriend, Edna (he did not reveal her last name).

Kale - Dakimh Work In Progress (MIDI Piano Only)

Essentially complete vocal-piano version of a chorus from my opera, Song of the Ma n-Thing.  The text, by Steve Gerber (not included, but visible in the image) is from Fear #19 (December 1973) and owned by Marvel Comics.  In this scene, Korrek, Warrior Prince of Katharta, and Howard the Duck, both brought to the Florida Everglades in the 1970s, have followed a workman's scream to the F.A. Schist airport construction site, only to find it swarming with demons.  To their surprise (as reflected by Korrek's solo line in the middle of the piece) the one the demons are after is the Man-Thing, who has followed after them, whom they mistook for an enemy and will now be the focus of their attack energies.  while the piece was heavily influenced by the climactic party scene in Robert Moran and James Skofield's one-act opera, The Dracula Diary, it bears little resemblance except in a few rhythms.  The main goal is to have the chorus sing in a manner dissonant enough to be reflective of stress-inducing music in horror cinema.

The music was composed in 2010 except for the chord at the beginning of measure 20 and the final tag, which were composed in December 2019 just prior to posting.

Chorus Of Demons (MIDI piano only)

Work in progress aria for Zhered-Na (likely a dramatic soprano because I prefer her below the staff at some points, with alternatives if it's too low for a given singer but too high for a mezzo), derived from text by Steve Gerber (not included but partially visible in the graphic)  in Marvel Spotlight #17 (September 1974), Ted Sallis replacing Daimon Hellstrom, whose arm is seen in the image, the baritone tag at the end of this piece leading directly into Spyros's arietta (they are not even separated in the manuscript).  This got delayed due to a corrupted Overture file.  Since I had existing copies (handwritten and PDF), I worked on some other portions before returning to this one.  The music was composed in 2011. I prioritized posting the Spyros arietta, being more complete,

This piece is structurally in a similar place as the material with Namor the Sub-Mariner, Evenor, and Cleito in the DeMatteis run of the series, as Ellen and Ted (temporarily restored to human form) pursue fragments of the Nexus of All Realities.  Based on the Marvel Universe Appendix entry for K'ad-mon, avoidance of using Namor (Marvel's oldest superhero), and narrative continuity with the first act, including this material instead seemed a natural fit.

Zhered-Na Aria and Scene with Ted Sallis work in progress (MIDI piano only)

Begins with the singing of the famous tagline "For whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch," as the stage clears from the origin story, Ellen holding her burned face.  The line is sung by Dakimh, Steve, and Richard, making their first appearances on the stage.  Dakimh, still unidentified, instructs Steve Gerber that he is to comment on the events as guided by his own conscience.  Music composed mostly in 2009; measure 32 was composed in 2020. Apart from the first line, the text, by Steve Gerber is from The Man-Thing #22 (October 1975).

Act I Interlude Work In Progress (MIDI Piano Only)

Scene from my opera, Song of the-Man-Thing.  Inspired by the instrumental protests of Jimi Hendrix and The Nice (whose interpretation of Leonard Bernstein's "America" I recommended as house opener for my play, <i>Misused Minds: Curse of the Educated Youth</i>), this is a piano version of a piece that is to play as Ted Sallis, having injected himself with his re-creation of the Captain America Super-Soldier serum, goes off stage left and, in projection, crashes his car into a swamp in the Everglades. After this, an image of Captain America like the one shown here appears and gradually, through an optical effect, begins to "melt" and become distorted while, in the foreground, Barbara Morse uses her martial arts abilities to protect her fellow scientists from the operatives of A.I.M.  As the music, based closely on John Stafford Smith's "The Anacreontic Song" as originally published, which was the basis of "The Star-Spangled Banner"--some finessing may take place in performance due to slight rhythmic differences with the U.S. national anthem that this piece ironically, but with sadness and terror, distorts as the plan for the serum to protect Ted from drowning goes horribly awry based on the magic and chemical composition in the swamp.  In the last measure, the Man-Thing emerges from stage left for the first time in the show, accompanied by the Bb-A-D motif on the melodica (barely audible in this MIDI despite the fff written, which would obviously require miking), along with a baroque-style trumpet flourish on the lower part of the treble staff. 

The distorted melody was mostly composed in 2009, although I discovered I skipped a phrase of the song and composed that the night of 2/13/ leading into 2/14, 2020. In the days prior, I incorporated the beginning of Smith's melody to increase the recognizability (more distortion at the beginning to reflect the car accident) and all of his original harmony, which I incorporated into minor and dissonant chords to flesh out the piece as fully as it will be until it is orchestrated.

P.S.: The pitches of Alan Silvestri's Captain America: The First Avenger theme are at the beginning, but not the rhythms.

The New Captain America (MIDI Piano Only)

Jingle I wrote making fun of a friend. I'm posting this so people realize that I actually can write in major key if I want to,

Howard's Theme (MIDI piano only)

Playwright learning to compose. Song of the Man-Thing is my third attempt at an opera and the first to get beyond 50 measures. Previous attempts were based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet (inspired by Michael Nyman's setting of The Tempest, Noises, Sounds and Sweet Airs, which abridges but does not otherwise alter the text (I once pointed out a goof on a fan board, and it's been corrected in the sheet music)) and L. Frank Baum's Aunt Jane's Nieces, titled Elmhurst.  I have also written shorter pieces including a brief work for solo cello and a setting of Shakespeare's Sonnet 94 for a film version of The Life of Timon of Athens (which was to be sung by Lucilius's bride with Lucilius at the piano) that I adapted and intend to direct of I can ever get the financial backing.

Scott Andrew Hutchins

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