Kyle Page
Drawing Ruth
Characters
Ruth: soprano
Henry: baritone
Chorus: two sopranos, two baritones
Instrumentation
Flute
Oboe
Violin
Violoncello
Contrabass
Organ
Location
Colonial America
in the WOODS
late summer or fall
Synopsis
In old age and living together in isolation, Henry finds out his sister Ruth has been counterfeiting money, so she convinces him to put her in jail. They build a jail cell in the corner of their one room home. One night Henry wakes Ruth up to tell her he’ll let her out the next day but she has to leave.
7. Aria
Ruth sits in jail
Now hoarding moth light
On the way I turn once and ask
Is it warm folding slowly into salt
Brother cannot settle the horse now
Oh my god
You shivered awake covered with perfume
Oh I dripped it all over
Kyle Page (b. 1985) is a composer living in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. He is a piano teacher and church organist.