Stone Soup

a one-act opera for children

Commissioned by
Lyric Opera of Chicago

music & libretto by Philip Seward

STORY: A hungry and tired traveller arrives in a small village marketsquare looking for some food. The suspicious villagers refuse to offer anything, so the traveller decides to make soup from a stone. The villagers are so intrigued by this idea, that they bring out a pot, fill it with water and begin to boil the stone. The traveller comments on how well the soup is cooking, but remarks that it would cook better with onions. A villager surprisingly offers to get some onions for the soup and the villagers wait some more to see this miracle of soup from a stone. The traveller volunteers that carrots would bring out the flavor even better and a villager offers carrots, then come beef bones, barley, salt...etc. Soon the village has a piping hot pot of soup for everyone to share. This fable set to music offers tuneful melodies and life lessons served up with warmth and humour!