Thérèse Raquin is an opera in two acts composed by Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker is an American composer. Picker began composing at the age of eight and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Princeton University, where his principal teachers were Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt...

 to a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Gene Scheer based on the novel Thérèse Raquin

Thérèse Raquin

Thérèse Raquin is the title of a novel and a play by the French writer Émile Zola. The novel was originally published in serial format in the journal L'Artiste and in book format in December of the same year.-Plot introduction:Thérèse Raquin tells the story of a young woman, unhappily married to...

 by Emile Zola

Émile Zola

Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...

. It is Picker's third opera, following Emmeline (1996) and Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox (opera)

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an opera in three acts composed by Tobias Picker to a libretto by Donald Sturrock based on Roald Dahl's children's novel Fantastic Mr Fox...

 (1998) and was commissioned by the Dallas Opera

Dallas Opera

The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...

, San Diego Opera

San Diego Opera

The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...

, and the Opéra de Montréal

Opéra de Montréal

Opéra de Montréal is an opera company in Montreal. It performs at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980...

. It premiered in November 2001.

Roles

Role	Voice
Madame Lisette Raquin	Soprano
Thérèse Raquin	Mezzo-Soprano
Camille Raquin	Tenor
Laurent	Baritone
Suzanne Michaud	Soprano
Olivier Michaud	Tenor
Monsieur Grivet	Bass

Synopsis

When Thérèse and Camille Raquin run into an old friend, Laurent, their life is irrevocably changed. Thérèse and Laurent, in fact, are more than just friends, and fervently confess their love to one another. So hot is their love, in fact, that they conspire to kill the sick Camille and run away together. While they succeed in dumping Camille's body in the Seine, they can't quite rid themselves of Camille - as both a black stain on their consciences and an actual ghost, the couple is tormented by the memory of the man they murdered.

Recording

Tobias Picker: Thérèse Raquin (Diana Soviero, Sara Fulgoni, Gordon Gietz, et al.; Dallas Opera; Conductor: Graeme Jenkins). Chandos 9659

Critical response

John Fleming of the St. Petersburg times wrote that Thérèse Raquin "created a sound world that could be mistaken for no other" and that Picker "stretched the audience with complex dissonances amid the high-flying arias and ensembles." Ursula Weiss of Orpheus wrote that the "assiduously staged performance was brilliant both musically and scenically" for the Dallas premiere. Joanne Sheehy Hoover, of the Albuquerque Journal raved that "the Dallas Opera caught the attention of the opera universe Friday night with its world premiere of Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin at the Fair Park Music Hall...This fertile material inspired an evening that, in its most intense moments, touched the burning emotional plane opera lovers crave and seldom get from contemporary composers."

External links

• Schott Music
  Schott Music
  Schott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
  
  , Therese Raquin
• Tobias Picker's official website: Therese Raquin
• Excerpt on Youtube