Die Ursitory

Opera Overview and Sample Audio Files

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Opera Overview

Die Ursitory (Opera in 4 Parts)
For vocal soloists, SATB chorus, chamber ensemble (continuo), and orchestra
Libretto (German): Barbara & Ralf Gawlick
Based on the novel by Matéo Maximoff

Born under a prophecy and bound to a mystical life-log that governs his survival, Arniko, a young Roma man, comes of age amid forbidden love, tribal vengeance, and forces beyond his control. As curses and impossible choices destroy everyone he loves, he races toward a final reunion while the fire sustaining his life burns steadily toward its end.

Die Ursitory is a new opera for soloists, chorus, continuo ensemble, and full orchestra, based on the 1946 novel by Matéo Maximoff — the first novel written by a Romani author. Adapted with the permission of the author’s daughter, Nouka Maximoff, the opera explores prophecy, curses, revenge, honor, and tragic love through the lens of Romani mythology.

At its center are the Ursitory, three female spirits of destiny who decree a child’s fate at birth. Arniko becomes trapped between two feuding tribes and torn by his relationships with four women, struggling against a destiny foretold long before his birth. Structured in four acts named after these women, The Ursitory is a sweeping tragic opera about the tension between human agency and inexorable fate.

This opera contains many “firsts”: After centuries of being “written about” and socio-culturally stereotyped in art, music and literature by those judgmentally disposed to looking in from the outside, the composer joins the voices of many who believe it is high time that Roma exercise their right of being authentically portrayed from within. Die Ursitory is the first novel written by a Rom, about a Romani subject, and now set to music by a composer of Roma descent. In this way, Maximoff’s seminal and groundbreaking story is given an equally groundbreaking musical/operatic treatment — a unique realization from within, rather than being viewed through the lens and stereotypes of non-Roma, as in all previous operas containing Roma (G*psy) themes.

A unique feature of Die Ursitory is its continuo ensemble — flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano, cimbalom, harp, and string quartet — which actively underscores the drama. Reflecting the opera’s themes of identity and belonging, its instrumental combinations are shaped by tribe, age, location, and the distinction between Roma and non-Roma worlds. Roma-associated instruments contrast with non-Roma timbres, while all continuo colors ultimately merge within the full orchestra.

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Vocal Roles

Principal Roles

• Dunicha — sorceress of the Ilikesti tribe — mezzo-soprano
• Tereina — Dunicha’s daughter — mezzo-soprano
• Arniko — Tereina’s son — baritone
• Orka — Arniko’s wife — soprano
• Parni — young Romani woman of the Minesti tribe — soprano
• Baron Tilesco* — bass-baritone
• Helena* — Tilesco’s daughter — soprano

Supporting Roles

• Ilika — head of the Ilikesti tribe; Dunicha’s son — bass
• Fero — head of the Minesti tribe; Tereina’s brother-in-law — bass
• Saviya — Fero’s wife; Tereina’s cousin — mezzo-soprano
• Miya — Fero’s brother — baritone
• Prasniko — son of Fero and Saviya; Parni’s brother — tenor
• Vaya — Fero’s brother — baritone
• Fortune Teller — soprano
• Drunkard* / Bandits* — baritone
• The Three Ursitory — spirits of destiny — soprano, mezzo-soprano, mezzo-soprano

Chorus

Members of the Ilikesti and Minesti tribes; guests of Baron Tilesco* — SATB chorus

Spoken Roles / Actors

• Lutka — grandmother of Matéo Maximoff
• Matéo Maximoff — author of The Ursitory
• Nouka — daughter of the author

* Non-Roma characters

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Sample Audio Files

The three mp3s below constitute the first ca. 14 minutes of the opera. After the Vorspiel, Lutka, the grandmother of the author, provides her young grandson Matéo Maximoff (accompanied by the bass clarinet) an expository narration (0:00–1:41): on Christmas Eve in rural Romania, over a century ago, the Roma Minesti tribe gathers to celebrate while two outcasts from the rival Ilikesti tribe — Dunicha, a feared sorceress, and her pregnant daughter Tereina — remain isolated in their tent. Widowed after the mysterious death of her Minesti husband, Tereina lives under threat from his vengeful family, who blame Dunicha for his fate. This leads directly into the dance (begins at 1:42) and chorus of the Minesti celebrating at the beginning of Scene 1. The score (from which the piano reduction is made) frequently indicates the instruments playing, but at times, a given passage is already fully orchestrated.

A note on the performance: the tempo for the chorus (third mp3) should be the same as that of the preceding dance. The tempo of this section in the recording was taken slower by the pianist to accommodate all the musical layers.

Ralf Yusuf Gawlick is a German-American composer of Romani-Kurdish descent whose music spans chamber, orchestral, vocal, choral, electro-acoustic, film, and operatic works. He is currently working on Die Ursitory, an opera based on Matéo Maximoff’s novel of the same name. Published exclusively by Universal Edition, his music is performed worldwide and recorded on Musica Omnia, Perfect Noise, Odradek and Decca Eloquence. He is a professor at Boston College and lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and fellow musician, Basia.