I, CHERUBINO
Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" is one of the most charming comedies ever composed, and Cherubino is the most charming character in it. We, however, only get to see him as a teenage page boy, desperately seeking some info about love from every female in the Casa, and being discovered in all the wrong places at all the wrong times...by all the wrong people.
On October 15, G.F. Skipworth's I, CHERUBINO will be released through Rosslare Press, and the whole story of the page boy's cliff-hanger existence will be heard at last.
This is not the first time Skipworth has dealt with subjects of classical music, having written a fantasy novel on the twenty four songs of Schubert's Winterreise (Winter Journey). With a tip of the hat to Angela Davis Gardner's excellent "Butterfly's Child," this is not a copy-cat novel, for Skipworth has conducted Figaro, coached it for a dozen opera companies, and has sung the three low-voice male roles (not to mention Schubert's "Winterreise").
A couple of points. Don't give us that "not an opera fan" garbage. There are dozens of categories in the opera world, and you probably haven't heard this one. Besides, Mozart is a separate category, by himself - incredible. Secondly, it's ok if you don't know the story, but if you want to get an insight into Cherubino's character, watch Maria Ewing sing "Voi che sapete" on youtube with subtitles. Don't be confused by a woman singing it. They always sing the parts of young boys. An adult male voice would be too...well, adult. (It's called a "Hosenrolle," or "pants role.") Final point...the author has painted these characters as they really are, and these stories as they really happened, no matter what Beaumarchais and Mozart claim. After all, Skipworth was there, and Mozart was not, so no purism, please...and if some peripheral operas get mixed up in the equation, deal with it.
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On October 15, G.F. Skipworth's I, CHERUBINO will be released through Rosslare Press, and the whole story of the page boy's cliff-hanger existence will be heard at last.
This is not the first time Skipworth has dealt with subjects of classical music, having written a fantasy novel on the twenty four songs of Schubert's Winterreise (Winter Journey). With a tip of the hat to Angela Davis Gardner's excellent "Butterfly's Child," this is not a copy-cat novel, for Skipworth has conducted Figaro, coached it for a dozen opera companies, and has sung the three low-voice male roles (not to mention Schubert's "Winterreise").
A couple of points. Don't give us that "not an opera fan" garbage. There are dozens of categories in the opera world, and you probably haven't heard this one. Besides, Mozart is a separate category, by himself - incredible. Secondly, it's ok if you don't know the story, but if you want to get an insight into Cherubino's character, watch Maria Ewing sing "Voi che sapete" on youtube with subtitles. Don't be confused by a woman singing it. They always sing the parts of young boys. An adult male voice would be too...well, adult. (It's called a "Hosenrolle," or "pants role.") Final point...the author has painted these characters as they really are, and these stories as they really happened, no matter what Beaumarchais and Mozart claim. After all, Skipworth was there, and Mozart was not, so no purism, please...and if some peripheral operas get mixed up in the equation, deal with it.
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G.F. Skipworth
G.F. Skipworth has toured the U.S., Canada, Europe, Ukraine and Russia as a concert pianist, symphonic and operatic conductor, vocalist and composer. However, a parallel interest that began in speech-writing has produced twelve novels, thirteen with the soon-to-be-released I, CHERUBINO, based on Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. The Marriage of Figaro was a natural, since the author has conducted it, coached it for over a dozen opera companies, and has sung all three low-voice male roles. Other classical music examples include his fantasy novel, Winterreise (Winter Journey) on the twenty four poems of the great Franz Schubert cycle.
Skipworth's formal education includes Whitman College, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard and UCLA. He is an experienced distance motorcyclist and novice sailor in the off hours, with big plans for Central America and a group of South Sea Islands that begins with "T." Others of his works include the four-volume Tales of the Carpailtan Campfire (Shindahee, Fire & Iceland, Three Roads to Waitsburg, Airna of Karapin), Stormfield - Tales from the Hereafter, Dancing with Rita, Rat-ta-tap! Dancing with Ellie, The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society, Sharpshooters of Simpering, North Dakota, Lady Jane's Miracle and American Succubus.
Skipworth's formal education includes Whitman College, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard and UCLA. He is an experienced distance motorcyclist and novice sailor in the off hours, with big plans for Central America and a group of South Sea Islands that begins with "T." Others of his works include the four-volume Tales of the Carpailtan Campfire (Shindahee, Fire & Iceland, Three Roads to Waitsburg, Airna of Karapin), Stormfield - Tales from the Hereafter, Dancing with Rita, Rat-ta-tap! Dancing with Ellie, The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society, Sharpshooters of Simpering, North Dakota, Lady Jane's Miracle and American Succubus.
