Our Town (opera)
Encyclopedia
Our Town is a three-act opera by composer Ned Rorem
and librettist J. D. McClatchy. It is the first opera to be adapted from the Thorton Wilder play
of the same name. The opera was commissioned by Indiana University
, Opera Boston
, the Aspen Music Festival and School
, North Carolina School of the Arts
, Lake George Opera in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Festival Opera in Walnut Creek, Calif.
, with very little spoken dialogue. As with the play, the libretto calls for no sets, a bare stage, and limited props. It was performed recently by the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music
in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
and librettist J. D. McClatchy. It is the first opera to be adapted from the Thorton Wilder play
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
of the same name. The opera was commissioned by Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, Opera Boston
Opera Boston
Opera Boston is an opera company in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in innovative repertoire and rarely heard works, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to children, in schools and after-school programs throughout the Boston area.Its home base is...
, the Aspen Music Festival and School
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School, founded in 1949, is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents music in an intimate, small-town setting...
, North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
, Lake George Opera in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Festival Opera in Walnut Creek, Calif.
Performance history
It was premiered by Indiana University Opera Theater with student singers and orchestra on February 25, 2006. Its professional debut was at the Lake George Opera on July 1, 2006. It covers the same ground as the play, dealing with birth, maturity and death. Rorem created pleasant melodies and sparseness to maintain the feel of the original production. The opera is virtually sung throughSung-through
Sung-through refers to a musical or opera with no spoken dialogue, except perhaps for some occasional lines included in some part of a song, but never as stand-alone dialogue...
, with very little spoken dialogue. As with the play, the libretto calls for no sets, a bare stage, and limited props. It was performed recently by the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music
Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music
The Baldwin–Wallace College Conservatory of Music is part of Baldwin-Wallace College which is located in Berea, Ohio. The main building is Kulas Hall. The Conservatory is home to the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in the United States.-History:The...
in Cleveland, Ohio.
Main roles
- Emily Webb (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...
) - George Gibbs (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...
) - Stage Manager, narrator (tenor)
- Dr. Gibbs, parent of George (bass)
- Mrs. Gibbs. parent of George (mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
) - Mrs. Webb, parent of Emily (soprano)
- Mr. Webb, parent of Emily (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...
) - Mrs. Soames, town gossip (mezzo-soprano)
- Simon Stimson, church music director (tenor)
- Towns people (chorus)
External links
- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/arts/music/27rore.html?ex=1298696400&en=f545ffaa1249507f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10709420/
- http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16879649&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17776&rfi=6
- http://www.ncarts.edu/pressreleases/Releases2006/Nov06/ourtown.htm