Patria is a cycle of music-theatre works written over a period of 40 years by R. Murray Schafer. The title derives from the Latin word for "homeland". The cycle is framed by a prologue The Princess of the Stars and an epilogue And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon, and includes ten other major works. All twelve of the works place heavy emphasis on the location of performance. The third production in the series, Patria 3: The Greatest Show, was adapted into the film Carnival of Shadows. The cycle is in a continual state of evolution as participants of And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon return to perform the work each summer, revising the content of the performance to accommodate the current environment of the site and needs of the performance community. History In 1966, Schafer originally conceived of Patria as a bipartite work, where the two halves would be performed simultaneously on separate stages. Instead, the two halves became Patria 1 and 2. By 1979, Schafer began to think of Patria as a cycle of six works. By 1990, the cycle settled into its current form of a dozen works. Parts Patria — The Prologue, The Princess of the Stars Captured by Three-Horned Enemy, the Princess sings an aria across a lake before a sunrise ritual. The audience sits on the shore while the ritual is performed on the lake in canoes. Wolf, who represents the id, leaves the lake to search for the Princess, hoping she will redeem him with her compassion. Only then can he rise to the heavens and inherit the moon. The Princess will return to the heavens as well. Wolf's search will take him through many identities and many generations. The Princess will become the human Ariadne. Patria 1 — Wolfman Wolf's first incarnation is as a refugee, who is unable to integrate into his new country. He locates Ariadne at a party, but he is unable to meet her. He stabs himself in the stomach with a knife over this heartbreak. Patria I was premiered as a co-production of the COC and the Shaw Festival. Patria 2 — Requiems for the Party Girl The Star Princess has incarnated as Ariadne in her first transformation on Earth. She is committed in a mental asylum with no exits. The doctors are completely unable to treat her. Ariadne searches for an exit, and she is the only