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Jonestown: A Multimedia Chamber Opera – Act I

Abstract Details

2016, DMA, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music: Composition.
Jonestown is a multimedia chamber opera in four acts, which is based on the mass murder/suicide of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project — informally known as Jonestown — based in Guyana, South America and its leader, Pastor Jim Jones. The work revolves around three characters, Christine, Mary, and Joe. The character of Christine is based on Christine Miller, who can be heard in the final “Death Tape” of Jonestown opposing the mass suicide and advocating for a more peaceful resolution. Mary and Joe — a married couple facing problems in their relationship concerning Jim Jones — are completely fictional characters, however, details of their lives are drawn from real-life events that occurred around 1978. The opera employs audio recorded by the people of Jonestown, which was later confiscated by the FBI, and digitized by the Jonestown Institute at San Diego State University. There is no actor or singer representing Jim Jones. These audio recordings provide excerpts of Jones’s words unaltered and uncensored. The first act of this opera introduces Christine, who expresses her hope for a better world through the work being done at Jonestown. We also meet Mary and Joe, and learn that the source of their marital problems is that Jim Jones is the father of their baby boy, not Joe. The chorus — consisting of other members of Jonestown — sing about their desire to create a Christian/Communist community, yet sermons by Jim Jones express his belief that salvation cannot be found in heaven, but on earth, through himself.
Douglas Knehans, D.M.A. (Committee Chair)
Mike Fiday, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Mara Helmuth, D.M.A. (Committee Member)
132 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Williams, E. M. (2016). Jonestown: A Multimedia Chamber Opera – Act I [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1460444805

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Williams, Evan. Jonestown: A Multimedia Chamber Opera – Act I. 2016. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1460444805.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Williams, Evan. "Jonestown: A Multimedia Chamber Opera – Act I." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1460444805

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)