Nora at the Altar-Rail
Encyclopedia
Nora at the Altar-Rail is a one-act opera by Jay Anthony Gach, to a libretto by Royce Vavrek
. The libretto is based on the Book of Genesis and inspired by Thomas Hardy
's poem "At the Altar-Rail" which is prominently featured in the piece.
Written while Vavrek and Gach were in residence at the American Lyric Theater, the opera was performed in concert in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre in the Symphony Space
in Manhattan, New York, on 7 January 2008.
Duration: 20 minutes.
Royce Vavrek
Royce Vavrek is a Canadian filmmaker, librettist, playwright and musical theatre writer known for the film From Sky and Soil, which was created as part of the Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network through a prize administered by the...
. The libretto is based on the Book of Genesis and inspired by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
's poem "At the Altar-Rail" which is prominently featured in the piece.
Written while Vavrek and Gach were in residence at the American Lyric Theater, the opera was performed in concert in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre in the Symphony Space
Symphony Space
Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre or the 160-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater. Programs include music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings...
in Manhattan, New York, on 7 January 2008.
Roles and role creators
- Nora (sopranoSopranoA 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...
), Colleen McGrath - Anders (tenorTenorThe 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...
), Edwin Vega - Lars (baritoneBaritoneBaritone 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...
), Christopher Burchett
Scenes
- Prologue, North Dakota — Nora
- Scene 1, The kitchen in the farmhouse — Lars, Nora
- Scene 2, The bookstore in town — Anders, Nora
- Scene 3, The living room in the farm house Lars, Nora
Duration: 20 minutes.