Preludes (musical)

Preludes
A musical fantasia set in the hypnotized mind of Sergei Rachmaninoff
Music	Dave Malloy
Lyrics	Dave Malloy
Book	Dave Malloy
Productions	June 2015 Lincoln Center Theater 3

Preludes is a musical fantasia set in the mind of Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and composed by Dave Malloy. The music is a combination of compositions by Rachmaninoff, Malloy, hybrids of the two, as well as music and lyrics from other related compositions.

Synopsis

After the disastrous premiere of his first symphony, the young Rachmaninoff suffers from writer’s block. He begins daily sessions with a therapeutic hypnotist, in an effort to overcome depression and return to composing.

Musical numbers

Music and lyrics by Dave Malloy except where noted.

Act I

1. “Your Day” — Rach
   

   suggested by Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, op. 18, 1st Movement, opening phrase,
   

   and Bach’s 2-Part Invention no. 9 in F minor, BWV 780
2. “Lilacs” — Rach, Natalya
   suggested by Rachmaninoff’s "Lilacs" from 12 Songs, op. 21, no. 5
3. Prelude in Bb major, op. 23, no. 2†§
4. “Ho-Ho” — Chaliapin, Chekhov
   
5. “Blocked”†
   
6. “Vocalise,” from 14 Romances, op. 34, no. 14 — Natalya§
   Arranged by Dave Malloy
7. Étude-tableau in Bb minor, op. 39 no. 4†§
8. “Subway” — Rach
9. Prelude in G# minor, op. 32 no. 12§
10. Prelude in G minor, op. 23, no. 5†§
11. “Trepak” from Songs and Dances of Death†
    Music by Modest Mussorgsky
    Lyrics by Arseny Golenishchev-Kutuzov
12. Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, op. 18, 1st movement, 1st theme†§
13. Moment Musical in Bb minor, op. 16, no. 1†§
14. “Tchaikovsky’s Child’s Song” — Tchaikovsky, Rach
15. “Natalya” — Natalya
    suggested by Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, op. 18, 2nd movement
    and Cello Sonata, op. 19, 2nd movement

Act II

16. “Loop” — Chaliapin
    

    suggested by Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43
    

    and Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor, op. 30
17. “Not Alone” — Rach, Natalya§
    Lyrics by Dave Malloy
    Adapted from Moment Musical in Db major, op. 16, no. 5
18. "The Prelude" — Rach§
    Prelude in C# minor, op. 3, no. 2
    Text by Dave Malloy
19. “Fate” from 12 Songs, op. 21, no. 1†§
    suggested by Beethoven's Symphony no. 5, op. 67
    Lyrics by Aleksy Apukthin
20. “The First Symphony” — Rach, Chaliapin, Natalya, Glazunov, Dahl
    Suggested by Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 1
21. Symphony no. 6 in F major, op. 68, 2nd movement†
    By Ludwig van Beethoven
    Arranged for piano four hands by Selmar Bagge
22. “Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Gospoda” from Vespers, op. 37, no. 2 — Company§
    Arranged by Dave Malloy
23. “Hypnosis” — Dahl
    suggested by Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G minor, op. 23, no. 5, 2nd theme
24. “Mountains” — Rachmaninoff
    suggested by Rachmaninoff’s "I Came To Her" from 12 Songs, op. 14, no. 4
25. Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, op. 18, 1st movement, 2nd theme§

†Not included on the Original Cast Recording
§ Music by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Principal roles and cast members

Character	Original Off-Broadway Performer	Original Austrian Performer
Rach	Gabriel Ebert	Riccardo Greco
Rachmaninoff	Or Matias	Peter Lewys Preston
Dahl	Eisa Davis	Daniela Dett
Natalya	Nikki M. James	Anais Lueken
Chaliapin	Joseph Keckler	Kevin Arand
Chekhov / Tchaikovsky / Tolstoy / Glazunov / Tsar Nicholas II / The Master	Chris Sarandon	Alen Hodzovic

Productions

The piece premiered in June 2015 at Lincoln Center Theater 3.

In January 2017, the show made its European and German-language premiere at the Landestheater Linz, Austria.

In May 2018, the show was performed at Richmond, Virginia's Firehouse Theatre.

Critical response

The piece was well received by the New York press; Ben Brantley in the New York Times wrote “Writer’s block turns out to be a lot more inspiring than you could ever have imagine—and sad and stirring and gloriously fun. In Preludes, Dave Malloy makes beautiful music out of a composer’s three years of creative silence…the best musical about art’s agonies since Georges Seurat wielded a twitchy paintbrush in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park With George. Mr. Malloy...incorporates wildly diverse sources—classical, folk, electro-pop—into a form that exists defiantly beyond the quotation marks of postmodernism. He’s that rarity, a smart sentimentalist whose self-consciousness about his feelings in no way dilutes them...Along with Fun Home and the soaring, Broadway-bound Hamilton, this smashing production says that the American musical is not only not dead but also growing luxuriantly in places you never expected."”

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2016	Lucille Lortel Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical	Gabriel Ebert	Nominated
		Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical	Or Matias	Nominated
			Chris Sarandon	Nominated
		Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Eisa Davis	Nominated

Recordings

A cast album of the original Lincoln Center production was released on January 19, 2016 by Ghostlight Records.