Christina's World (opera)

Christina’s World is a 1983 Australian operetta, composed by Ross Edwards with libretto by playwright Dorothy Hewett. An old woman recalls her youthful memories of her family and her tragic love affair on a lonely Western Australian beach. Hewett describes the piece as “an allegory or fable about illusion or reality and the truth and lies of memory”. Characters * Christina (old) : an elderly lady in a hospital * Christina (young) : a hesitant and idealistic dream figure; a contradictory, perverse, tragi-comic adolescent with a fierce egocentric life of her own. * Dick : a numbed and disappointed father * Harry : uncle deranged by World War I experiences * Tom : a playful and carefree fisherman Synopsis Elderly Christina reflects on (or imagines) her youth living with her father and uncle in a decaying house on a remote but beautiful beach. Her memory of her young self begins as a fantasy but soon takes on real life. Christina’s father Dick is numbed and disappointed by the loss of her mother, who committed suicide by walking into the sea. Her uncle Harry is deranged by his experiences in World War I. Christina falls in love with a playful young man whose brief lovemaking leaves her