"MANETTA" from Depossession

www.depossession.com

Depossession presents a mythological reimagining of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, fusing historical facts with Native American folklore. In Depossession, Manhattan is a giant sea beast the Lenape tribes called Manetta, and the Brooklyn Bridge is built to restrain the 13-mile long goliath.

At the opening of the opera, the bridges designer, John Roebling, is dead, leaving his son Washington, and daughter-in-law, Emily, to struggle with the building of the bridge. Washingtons work in the caisson, the foundation beneath the towers, has left him with a strange ailment, making him weak and confused. Outside the caisson, in the river, four mermaids known as the Kikechum attack the bridge builders and set them against one another. The captured ghost of John Roebling watches the disruptions, knowing that if the bridge is not built in time, Manetta will awaken and submerge the city into the ocean.

Three of the Kikechum represent Fear, Greed and Pride. The fourth, Wulahellan, has the power to possess men, and because of her unique gift, her cruel sisters have cast her aside. John plots to get Wulahellan to possess Washington and help him complete the bridge. Unfortunately, Washington is addicted to the thin air of the caisson, and when Wulahellan tries to possess Washington the protective force of Emilys love drives her out. John is left to devise other means to save his son.

Depossession is built around the conceit that Manhattan is a city built on a sleeping leviathan. As the audience discovers in Little One, a spoken word piece at the open of the opera, Manetta corrupted mens hearts with power, lust and gluttony. Ultimately, the Lenapes overcame Manetta, forcing it into a coma in the middle of New York Harbor, where it took on the appearance of an island. Upon discovering the island, Europeans penetrated Manetta with buildings and wells, converting its power into material wealth. In time, a cabal of Illuminati discovered that the island was alive and in danger of slipping back into the ocean. A great bridge was needed to pin the beast down, save the city, and allow continued mining.

The central drama of Depossession centers on the collision of the New Europeans with the forces of nature represented by the Kikechum. John, the bridges designer, is determined to see Manetta strapped down, and the Kikechum will do anything to prevent him from succeeding. Ultimately, Washington and Wulahellan are central because they represent the crossover between these two worlds. Both attempt to enter the others realm and find that they cannot cross back into their own without the alteration of not only their perspectives, but also their physical beings.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Norman Coady
• Depossession
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Manetta
• New York City
• Leviathan
• Rock Opera
• Wagner
• History
• Hegel

[Rockwellian]

Thanks!  Someday, hopefully!

[Gablexxx]

Such a wonderfully embellished story! I truly wish I would view your rock opera...