Life is a Dream (opera)
Encyclopedia
Life is a Dream is a three-act opera with music by Lewis Spratlan
from an English-language libretto by James Maraniss which was based on the 1635 play Life is a Dream by Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca
. It was written in the 1970s and received its stage premiere in 2010.
Spratlan's collaboration with his librettist began in the 1970s while the two were friends and colleagues at Amherst College
where Spratlan was a professor of music for 36 years and Maraniss was a professor of Spanish who greatly admired Calderon's play. Spratlan wrote the opera between 1975 and 1978 on a commission from the New Haven Opera Theatre, a company which closed in 1977. Spratlan's efforts to interest another company in staging the work failed until, in January 2000, he raised funds to finance two concert performances of the opera's second act–"the second act is where most of the drama of the piece goes on," said the composer–by the Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble
, one at Amherst College and the other in Cambridge, Massachusetts
at Harvard's
Paine Hall, where the Boston Globe reviewer greeted it as "a strong piece that would prove compelling in a full production." "The concert," said a later report, "required a forty-six-piece orchestra, six singers and a chorus. A combined recording of both performances was made. Spratlan submitted it to the Pulitzer Prize
Board in March 2000, and to most everyone's surprise–especially Spratlan's–it won." The Pulitzer citation noted that Spratlan had "created a theatrical world in which the characters were given distinct musical thumbprints that were meant to embody their personalities, and in which the dissonances and angularities of contemporary styles were linked with traditional dance, march and madrigal forms."
In May 2002, New York City Opera
presented another concert performance of the second act. There was still no interest in staging the work until early 2009 when Santa Fe Opera's General Director Charles MacKay approached Spratlan to propose a 2010 staging.
The opera was given its world premiere at the Santa Fe Opera
on 24 July 2010. John Cheek, who had appeared in the 2000 concerts, appeared in the premiere as well.
Spratlan has described the musical style he employed as "'pan-tonal,' that is, mostly centered in certain keys or modes but fluid in moving among them" except for the use of 12-tone technique to represent the rigidity of the character of Don Basilio. Each character is further differentiated:
New York Times music critic, Anthony Tommasini, gave the opera a positive review, writing:
Lewis Spratlan
M. Lewis Spratlan Jr. is an American music academic and composer of contemporary classical music.Born in Miami, Florida, Spratlan played the oboe as a youth. He attended Yale University and was a student of Mel Powell and Gunther Schuller...
from an English-language libretto by James Maraniss which was based on the 1635 play Life is a Dream by Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño usually referred as Pedro Calderón de la Barca , was a dramatist, poet and writer of the Spanish Golden Age. During certain periods of his life he was also a soldier and a Roman Catholic priest...
. It was written in the 1970s and received its stage premiere in 2010.
Spratlan's collaboration with his librettist began in the 1970s while the two were friends and colleagues at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
where Spratlan was a professor of music for 36 years and Maraniss was a professor of Spanish who greatly admired Calderon's play. Spratlan wrote the opera between 1975 and 1978 on a commission from the New Haven Opera Theatre, a company which closed in 1977. Spratlan's efforts to interest another company in staging the work failed until, in January 2000, he raised funds to finance two concert performances of the opera's second act–"the second act is where most of the drama of the piece goes on," said the composer–by the Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble
Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble
Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble is a contemporary chamber music ensemble based in Boston, Massachusetts. The group was founded in 1975 by composers Scott Wheeler, Rodney Lister, and Ezra Sims as the concert giving “annex” of New England Dinosaur Dance Theater...
, one at Amherst College and the other in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
at Harvard's
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Paine Hall, where the Boston Globe reviewer greeted it as "a strong piece that would prove compelling in a full production." "The concert," said a later report, "required a forty-six-piece orchestra, six singers and a chorus. A combined recording of both performances was made. Spratlan submitted it to the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
Board in March 2000, and to most everyone's surprise–especially Spratlan's–it won." The Pulitzer citation noted that Spratlan had "created a theatrical world in which the characters were given distinct musical thumbprints that were meant to embody their personalities, and in which the dissonances and angularities of contemporary styles were linked with traditional dance, march and madrigal forms."
In May 2002, New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
presented another concert performance of the second act. There was still no interest in staging the work until early 2009 when Santa Fe Opera's General Director Charles MacKay approached Spratlan to propose a 2010 staging.
The opera was given its world premiere at the Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
on 24 July 2010. John Cheek, who had appeared in the 2000 concerts, appeared in the premiere as well.
Spratlan has described the musical style he employed as "'pan-tonal,' that is, mostly centered in certain keys or modes but fluid in moving among them" except for the use of 12-tone technique to represent the rigidity of the character of Don Basilio. Each character is further differentiated:
- The vocal style I think of as heightened speech, following closely the rhythms and contours of the text. Each character has a vocal "thumbprint." For some examples, the hero's music soars upward, only to fall a bit and resume its climb — Sisyphus pushing the bolder uphill. The king's music is marked by wide leaps, conveying pomposity and exaggeration. The music of Clarín, the jester, is staccato and very narrow in range; he is always announced and accompanied by the piccolo trumpet, a descendant of the namesake Baroque-era clarino. The opera's orchestration is many-hued and actively conveys the psychological environment at hand.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 24 July 2010 (Conductor: Leonard Slatkin Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Rosaura, Clotaldo's daughter | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Ellie Dehn |
| Clarin, a jester | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Keith Jameson |
| Segismundo, the Prince | tenor | Roger Honeywell |
| Clotaldo, a nobleman | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
James Maddalena |
| Astolfo, Basilio's nephew | baritone | Craig Verm |
| Estrella, Basilio's niece | Mezzo soprano | Carin Gilfry |
| King Basilio, Segismundo's father | Bass baritone | John Cheek |
| Second Servant, First Soldier | Bass baritone | Thomas Forde |
| First Servant | Baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Darik Knutsen |
| Second Soldier | Tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Heath Huberg |
| Soldiers, servants, ladies; Chorus | ||
Critical reactions
In is review of the premiere performance, critic James Keller of the Santa Fe New Mexican described the "impressive premiere" and noted one of the characteristics of the music of the period of composition which "sent opera-goers on a stroll down memory lane to the 1970s, when academic composers were still expected to worship at the altar of atonality." He continued:- "but a score as beautiful as Spratlan's reminds us that even if one might not care to dine on atonality for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, an occasional taste can be toothsome. From a musical standpoint, Life Is a Dream is an imposing accomplishment, the more so in light of the bland pablum that has so often been tendered in stage works of more recent vintage."
New York Times music critic, Anthony Tommasini, gave the opera a positive review, writing:
- "...no question, Life Is a Dream is an important opera, the rare philosophical work that holds the stage and gives singing actors real characters to grapple with. The cast, crew and especially the elated Mr. Spratlan basked in the ovation."