Luxury Suite from Powder Her Face
Suite No.2
large orchestra
- Year
- 1995/2017
- Duration
- 00:27:00
- Category
- Full Orchestra
Instrumentation
3(III=picc).3.3(all=bcl).ssax.asax(=tsax).3(III=contraforte*) – 4331 – timp – perc(3): glsp/xyl/t.bell + bucketful of water/2 susp.cym/clash.cym/antique.cym/hi-hat.cym/siz.cym/tam-t/SD/2 kit BD/orchestral BD/small rototom/3 brake drums/high bongo/Monkey drum/3 tpl.bl/guero/2 whips/small rattle/tgl/tamb/large washboard/small anvil/vibraslap/flexatone/lion’s roar/paper bag/wood chimes/cabasa/popgun – harp – pno – strings
* ossia: contrabassoon (requiring low A)
Commission
Luxury Suite from Powder Her Face (2017) incorporates four newly-orchestrated sections of the 1995 chamber opera, interpolated between new orchestrations of the existing Three-piece Suite from Powder Her Face (2007)*, to make an extended, full-length symphonic suite
Luxury Suite from Powder Her Face was co-commissioned by the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the generous support of The Boltini Trust, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and the St. Louis Symphony
*Three-piece Suite from Powder Her Face (12 minutes) was commissioned by the Aldeburgh Festival, the Philharmonia Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra
Reviews
'The opera was chamber-sized, but the suite is huge, throwing in – well, not the kitchen sink, but it does include a large washboard, an anvil, and two whips. The result is an orchestral sizzler, as if this is how the music always wanted to be.'
The Financial Times (Richard Fairman), 12 April 2018
Availability
Score and parts for hire
See also Three-piece Suite from Powder Her Face and Hotel Suite from Powder Her Face
Scores and publication
Upcoming performances
No performances found.
Previous performances
- — Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest, Hungary) — Hungary — Composer
- — Gran Teatro Nacional, San Borja (Lima, Peru) — Peru — Composer
- — University Centre Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria (Victoria, BC, Canada) — Canada — Composer
- — Het Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (20:15) — Netherlands — Composer, Conductor
- — Het Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (20:15) — Netherlands — Composer, Conductor
- — Orchestra Hall (Hradec Králové, Czech Republic) — Czech Republic — Composer
- — West Road Concert Hall (Cambridge, United Kingdom) — United Kingdom — Composer
- — Koussevitzky Music Shed (Lenox, MA, USA) — USA — Composer, Conductor
- — Koussevitzky Music Shed (Lenox, MA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Koncerthuset DR Byen (Copenhagen, Denmark) — Denmark — Composer
- — Koncerthuset DR Byen (Copenhagen, Denmark) — Denmark — Composer
- — Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre (London, United Kingdom) — United Kingdom — Composer, Conductor
- — BBC Radio 3 (United Kingdom) — United Kingdom — Composer
- — Symphony Hall (Boston, MA, USA) (20:00) — USA — Composer, Conductor
- — Symphony Hall (Boston, MA, USA) (13:30) — USA — Composer, Conductor
- — Symphony Hall (Boston, MA, USA) — USA — Composer, Conductor
- — Freeborn Hall, University of California, Davis (Davis, CA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — No Venue (Orange County, CA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Granada Theatre, Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, CA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — McCallum Theatre (Palm Desert, CA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Powell Hall (St Louis, MO, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Powell Hall (St Louis, MO, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, PA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, PA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Carnegie Hall (New York City, NY, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, PA, USA) — USA — Composer
- — Philharmonie (Berlin, Germany) — Germany — Composer
- — Philharmonie (Berlin, Germany) — Germany — Composer
- — Philharmonie (Berlin, Germany) — Germany — Composer
Recordings
- Thomas Adès: Orchestral Suites — 2025 — LPO (LPO–0131)