Since I Was Young

(Pemmie's Aria)
from the opera A Brief History of Root Vegetables

Hear a brief excerpt from Since I Was Young as performed in the opera version by Emmanuel Medina with the UTSA Orchestra, Eugene Dowdy, conductor

Composer/Librettist: David Heuser Instrumentation:tenor, piano Year Composed: 2011 Duration: 4 minutes, 30 seconds Pages, piano score: 8 Cost: $3.00 Program Note: Since I Was Young occurs in a slightly different form in my comic opera, A Brief History of Root Vegetables. In the opera, Pemmie (a put-upon, unsure, indecisive young fellow) sings this aria while the Narrator (a pushy know-it-all) interrupts and comments. In particular, whenever Pemmie names a location, the Narrator points it out on a map. In the opera, the places Pemmie dreams of going are a little unusual: Oman, the Maldives, Uzbekistan, etc. For this version of the song, without Narrator interruptus, the locations have been changed to more conventional exotica. Since I Was Young Since I was young, I dreamed of seeing the world, being on my own. Since I was young, I hoped to make my mark, get far away from home. To be someplace exotic, someplace different, like Shanghai, or Egypt, or New Zealand, or Monte Carlo. Someplace new and exciting like Antarctica, Andorra, or Machu Picchu. Since I was young, My father dreamed of us, working side by side. Since I was young, His vision of my future has seemed as certain as the tide: to run the family business. Passed down from father to son, Like china sets, or silver, or lessons you learn. Like destiny, or fate, or a long prison term. Now that I’m grown, I need to stand on my own feet, and stand up to him. Tell him the truth, and stop all this sulking, and go out on a limb. I will do it now! No more waiting or thinking. No more letting people walk over me… I should wait until after the funeral, After all, his mother just died.

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