Baritone and Piano or Orchestra [Flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, contrabassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano (doubling celesta), percussion (two players), strings]
The White Whale is a musical projection of Ahab’s madness as revealed in fragments of soliloquy and dialogue from nine different chapters of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. The four movements do not attempt to mirror Melville’s continuous narrative. Instead, they reflect some of the novel’s greatest discontinuities by juxtaposing paradoxical aspects of Ahab’s character—aspects which are revealed one by one in non-successive chapters strung out like beads on a chain throughout the book—in a radically compressed time frame. The compression heightens awareness of the depth and complexity of Ahab’s personality and of his relationship to the whale while creating a particular dramatic tension of its own. The text of this work was adapted by the composer from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
Movements:
- The Prisoner
- In Nomine Diaboli
- The Symphony
- A Hump Like a Snow-Hill
| Composed: | 1981 |
| Duration: | 30:00 |
| Publisher: | E. C. Schirmer Music Company |
| Catalog Number(s): | Piano/Vocal Score, 4098 Full score and parts available for rental. |
Reviews:
“[…]Ronald Perera’s White Whale (1982) followed, distilling Herman Melville’s sprawling epic into a single tormented consciousness. Baritone Michael Chioldi—following his acclaimed title-role performance in Odyssey Opera’s Henry VIII by Camille Saint-Saëns a few years ago—offered not merely a portrayal but a psychological excavation of Captain Ahab. Possessing a voice of imposing amplitude and burnished depth, Chioldi wields it with uncommon intelligence: tyranny here grows from wound as much as will. His legato lines suggested spiritual hunger rather than mere vengeance, the haunting pianissimo “Is it better to gaze into sea or sky…?” spun on a filament of tone that never lost its core. When obsession surged, the sound expanded thrillingly, riding the orchestra with Verdian authority, yet even at full throttle the text remained etched and purposeful. The climactic “Thus, I give up the spear!” landed not as bluster but rather as harrowing surrender: a man arguing himself into annihilation. It was a sculpted, commanding portrayal that left the audience shaken, as if obsession itself had taken vocal form.”
Monodrama Triptych Wows, Adina Belwin, Review of Mono e Mono (e Mono), The Boston Musical Intelligencer, February 24, 2026.
Score Samples:
Audio Excerpts:
Sanford Sylvan, Baritone; Joel Rosenberg, Conductor; Orchestra of Five College Musicians