# Dropera

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***Dropera*** is a [concept album](/source/Concept_album) by [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith) and [Ferdinand Richard](/source/Ferdinand_Richard), credited as "Fred & Ferd". It was their first collaborative album as a [duo](/source/Duet) and was recorded in [Zürich](/source/Z%C3%BCrich), [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) in August 1989. It was released on both [LP](/source/LP_album) and [CD](/source/Compact_disc) by [RecRec Music](/source/RecRec_Music) in Switzerland in 1991. The album's songs were sung in [French](/source/French_language) and a booklet of the song lyrics in French, [German](/source/German_language) and English accompanied the album.

## Background

[English](/source/England) experimental guitarist/composer [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith) and [French](/source/France) experimental bass guitarist/composer [Ferdinand Richard](/source/Ferdinand_Richard) had previously worked together in other contexts before coming together as a [duo](/source/Duet) to record this album. Frith was a founding member of the English [avant-rock](/source/Avant-rock) [band](/source/Musical_ensemble) [Henry Cow](/source/Henry_Cow) and Richard a founding member of the French avant-rock band [Etron Fou Leloublan](/source/Etron_Fou_Leloublan). Their paths first crossed in the mid-1970s when Henry Cow began touring [Europe](/source/Europe). Contact consolidated in 1978 when the two bands and three others joined forces to form [Rock in Opposition](/source/Rock_in_Opposition). In mid-1980 Etron Fou Leloublan (including Richard) recorded with Frith in France and [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland), and appeared on one side of Frith's 1981 solo LP, *[Speechless](/source/Speechless_(Fred_Frith_album))*. Frith also played on and produced two of Etron Fou Leloublan's albums in 1982 and 1985.

## Content and reception

*Dropera* is a "twisted rock opera" about the comic and surreal adventure of two diners in a French restaurant involving abduction, an aircraft crash, death and re-awakening.[1] Frith and Richard composed the music, and Richard wrote and sang the song texts. The music has been described as a mixture of [avant-rock](/source/Avant-rock), [pastorale](/source/Pastorale) with a little [improvisation](/source/Musical_improvisation).[2] [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) wrote that notwithstanding the "leaden" sound of the programmed drums, "Fans of Frith will not be disappointed with this collaboration.[2]

## Track listing

Music by [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith) and [Ferdinand Richard](/source/Ferdinand_Richard); lyrics by Ferdinand Richard.

**Face A: On Vit!**

1. "Petite Entrée: Au Restaurant, On Se Regarde!" – 3:31
1. "Tableau 1: Riche Et Mystérieux!" – 5:56
1. "Tableau 2: Mauvaise Gauche!" – 2:24
1. "Tableau 3: Deux Emballés!" – 2:52
1. "Tableau 4: Tous Cuits!" – 4:02
1. "Fin Tragique: Flottent Les Petits Morceaux!" – 2:33

**Face B: On Est Mort!**

1. "Enchaînement Alchimique: Nos Fantômes Naissent!" – 3:42
1. "Tableau 5: La Mer Est Notre Mère!" – 4:08
1. "Tableau 6: Ah, Que La Vie Est Dure!" – 4:59
1. "Tableau 7: Allez, On Danse!" – 4:08
1. "Tableau 8: Holà! Tu Rèves! / Fin Comique: A Quand La Suite?" – 7:48

### English titles

**Side A: One Lives!**

1. "Petite Entrée: In the Restaurant, They Eye Each Other!" – 3:31
1. "Scene 1: Rich and Mysterious!" – 5:56
1. "Scene 2: Wrong Left Turn!" – 2:24
1. "Scene 3: Two Abducted!" – 2:52
1. "Scene 4: Everyone Fried!" – 4:02
1. "Tragic Finale: Little Pieces Floating!" – 2:33

**Side B: One Has Died!**

1. "Alchemical Outcome: Birth of Our Phantoms!" – 3:42
1. "Scene 5: The Sea Is Our Mother!" – 4:08
1. "Scene 6: It's a Hard Life!" – 4:59
1. "Scene 7: Hey, Let's Dance!" – 4:08
1. "Scene 8: You Must Be Dreaming! / Comic Finale: When's the Sequel?" – 7:48

Translations from the album booklet.[1]

## Personnel

- [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith) – guitars, violins, keyboards, digital and analogue percussion, background vocals
- [Ferdinand Richard](/source/Ferdinand_Richard) – six-string bass guitar, lead vocals
- [Raymund van Santen](/source/Raymund_van_Santen) – alto saxophone, clarinet, flageolet

### Production

- Recorded by [Andy Rathgeb](/source/Andy_Rathgeb) in August 1989 at Sound and Vision Studio, [Zürich](/source/Z%C3%BCrich), [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland)
- Mixed by [Tim Hodgkinson](/source/Tim_Hodgkinson) in December 1989 at Cold Storage Studio, [London](/source/London)
- Produced by [Raymund van Santen](/source/Raymund_van_Santen)
- Photography by [Bill Gilonis](/source/Bill_Gilonis)
- Artwork by [Peter Bäder](/source/Peter_B%C3%A4der)

## References

1. Booklet accompanying the LP and CD.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dropera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropera) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropera?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.