Peter Lawson

Wizard!

Wizard! is a 45 minute cantata originally written in 1980 for year-six juniors in a school in the East End of London, at which I taught for many happy years. The words were written by Katherine Hayes, who taught drama and poetry there. The story line is based upon a Grimms' Fairy Tale. In 1986, it was performed in the Fairfield Hall, Croydon, by the combined forces of twenty-three local school choirs. In 2021, I revised the piece for this new edition. Peter Lawson

Soloists: King Reckless, Merlin, Brangwyn, Miller's Wife, Five Elves/Fairies, Charon
Plus: Courtiers, Wizards, Soldiers, Imps & Chorus (unison & two-part) with piano accompaniment.

SYNOPSIS
This is the story of a King Reckless, who, in the opening number, appears overjoyed at having a baby daughter, Sophia, but, as time goes on, reveals a truly wicked side to his character. When he hears, through one of his Wizards, that his daughter will eventually marry a common soldier, he decides to intervene, just after the birth of the soldier-to-be, by throwing the baby, Will, into the river.
Twenty years later, he discovers that Will did not drown, but was rescued by a childless couple, who brought him up as if he was their own. The King tricks Will into going to the palace with a sealed letter to take to the Queen as a reward. The message reads: "This man is dangerous. Have him put to death." On his way to the palace, Will is set upon by robbers. They open his letter, take pity on him and change it to: "This admirable man must be married to the Princess without delay".
Reckless returns to find that Will and Sophia have become husband and wife. He cunningly declares Will as King in place, providing he can perform a task, namely fetching three hairs from the Devil's head. The King does not believe Will will return.
Will sets out across the river Styx into hell, ferried by Charon, condemned forever to ferrying sinners across the river. Will persuades the Devil's Granny to snip three curls from the Devil's head and manages to overhear the secret of the spell which prevents Charon escaping. Apparently, if Charon gives his cap to someone else, that person becomes the ferryman. The Devil let slip the secret of how to make a certain tree grow golden apples. Will returns with golden apples and tricks King Reckless into thinking that he, too, will have access to the apple tree if he asks for Charon's cap ... so off he goes!

Chorus part GM389-C also available.