Peter Lawson

Nessie

Nessie is the story of the conflicting aspirations of naturalists and property-developers, with the Loch Ness monster, Nessie, caught between the opposing factions. The scene is the banks of Loch Ness, the deepest and most mysterious of the Scottish lochs. We first see the loch-side at dawn. Property developers are sizing up the area for development into a theme park - with plastic brontosauruses popping out of the loch by the dozen. The Naturalists are horrified to learn of the intentions of the developers and suggest the idea of a wildlife park instead, but the children decide that they can only convince the developers of this if the monster is sighted. They go off in search….
The children are lost in the mist which has suddenly descended and are tired and hungry. Meanwhile, the worried parents are looking for them, bickering to each other all the while about their conflicting interests. Their mutual loss unites the parents and the idea of a wildlife park finally meets with the approval of the developers. While the parents continue their search, the children, tired and pathetic, curl up asleep beside the loch. The monster gradually rises from the water, the children waking to greet her as if in a dream. The monster subsides and the children go back to sleep.
The parents return and find the children. They are too overjoyed to pay attention to the fact that the children claim they have seen the monster. The parents begin taking their children home but return, saying that they've been discussing with each other that if there really is a monster, then it will be protected for ever by the Loch Ness Wildlife Park. This goes down well with the children and now all parties are happy!

The number of parents and children can be varied to suit the available resources. Tenor and Bass parts (Parents) can be regarded as optional if broken voices are not available, or adults could play the parts of the parents. It can be performed as a staged opera, semi-staged or given as a concert performance. An orchestral accompaniment is available but it can be performed just with piano. A full vocal score and also a chorus part is available on sale or hire.
Duration 60 minutes

The opera includes a 'show-stopping' chorus entitled 'Conservation' which is also available separately for mixed, male or female voice choirs (GM351, GM352, GM353, GM354)