The Libretto

  As I meditate upon how to proceed with the new revision of "Alpha & Omega" one of the aspects of the stage presentation is how to use artistic license to firm an accurate yet aesthetically pleasing interpretation of Biblical text. As I may have mentioned, I am using a New Church perspective on the Word of God, which, in this instance will merge the natural, external degree with the Spiritual/Celestial degrees of the Word. The Celestial degrees may be only references implying such, since we do not really gain an understanding of that degree until we are living in the Spiritual degree. But nonetheless, there needs to be a natural degree understanding of the celestial.

The material includes the writings of 

Emanuel Swedenborg

   Having begun to structure the Third Act into a concept of an opera, I was enthusiastic to advance with that, when somehow, I lost my notes, which were written into my copy of "Apocalypse Revealed". So, I will need to do all of that over again, once I finish "The Gnomes of New Hope".

   On Good Friday, we sang Mozart's Requiem in choir, which has been a regular activity for me, for at least the last 30 years, and that got me thinking about the end of Act Two.

   Act Two constitutes a summary of human society, culminating in the appearance of the Messiah, the Lord God manifest in human form. As I meditate on how to restructure this conveyance, I realize that the conclusion of Act Two needs to be His Ascension from the Natural Degree after His Resurrection. The question is "Do we address His entrance into the Spiritual Degree or even the Celestial? I think there will need to be some reference there to, but what that will be is unknown at this point. Although, that is addressed within The Apocalypse, so I will leave the structure up to Providence as the writing process proceeds.

   I expect to convey the trial and crucifixion as an abstract backdrop to other significant events, such as His ordering of the Hells, his resurrection, and Ascension from the Ultimates of Creation back into the Essence of His Being, taking with Him the Form He took on in Christ. I do think this conveyance will be clear in the distinction between Acts One and Two, but made even clearer in the sequence of events in Act Three and seeing how they tie into the previous Acts. So the language does not need to be specific, although the language of Revelation is specific in a degree, since, I believe the visuals will bring that about in a more profound way.

  With the extent of the material I'm beginning to wonder how to fit it into one sitting. Pushing the limit, the piece could theoretically be three hours long, giving one hour to each act, at most, trimming it down from there.

   I do expect a complete rewrite of the script materials into a more refined Libretto, including a poetic structure that allows for lyrical expression. It's just a question of perspective.

AG