The Postman Always Rings Twice (opera)
Encyclopedia
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1982 opera with a libretto written by Colin Graham
and music by Stephen Paulus
, based on the 1934
novel by James M. Cain
, The Postman Always Rings Twice
.
The opera was the first of four commissioned from Paulus by the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. It opened to generally strong reviews, and prompted the critic from the New York Times, in an otherwise mixed notice, to call Paulus "a young man on the road to big things".
The opera has since been performed numerous times around the world, and Paulus has written eight more operas since.
diner for a meal, and ends up working there. The diner is operated by a young, beautiful woman, Cora, and her much older husband, Nick. Frank and Cora have an affair. Cora and Frank scheme to murder Nick in order to start a new life together without her losing the diner. Their first attempt at the murder is a failure, but they eventually succeed.
Colin Graham
Colin Graham, OBE was a British-born stage director of opera, theater, and television.Graham was educated at Northaw School , Stowe School and RADA...
and music by Stephen Paulus
Stephen Paulus
Stephen Paulus is an American composer, best known for his operas and choral music. His best-known piece is his 1982 opera The Postman Always Rings Twice, one of several operas he has written for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which prompted The New York Times to call him "a young man on the road...
, based on the 1934
1934 in literature
The year 1934 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The first Flash Gordon comic strip is published.*Boris Pasternak and Korney Chukovsky are among those present at the first Congress of the Soviet Union of Writers....
novel by James M. Cain
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
, The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain.The novel was quite successful and notorious upon publication, and is regarded as one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century...
.
The opera was the first of four commissioned from Paulus by the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. It opened to generally strong reviews, and prompted the critic from the New York Times, in an otherwise mixed notice, to call Paulus "a young man on the road to big things".
The opera has since been performed numerous times around the world, and Paulus has written eight more operas since.
Synopsis
The story is of a drifter, Frank, who stops at a ruralRural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
diner for a meal, and ends up working there. The diner is operated by a young, beautiful woman, Cora, and her much older husband, Nick. Frank and Cora have an affair. Cora and Frank scheme to murder Nick in order to start a new life together without her losing the diner. Their first attempt at the murder is a failure, but they eventually succeed.