Operas in Concert: Upheavals of the 20th Century
John Harbison, after the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with additional song lyrics by Murray Horwitz
John Harbison wryly notes that “The Great Gatsby is a music-driven opera in which the composer bullied the librettist as they worked together.” Given that they are one and the same, such bullying can perhaps be forgiven; still, the fact remains that the twists and turns of The Great Gatsby are driven as much by the sounds Harbison imagined in response to his classic source material as the narrative of that material itself. The result is “music more substantial and interesting than that of most literature operas” (Opera News), filled with “lyrical outpourings,” “richly chromatic harmony tweaked with dissonance,” and “original evocations of 1920s dance music and popular songs […that] are ingeniously done” (The New York Times). Relatively little-performed so far this decade, The Great Gatsby is due for a renaissance.
The Great Gatsby is available in full and reduced orchestrations.
Soloists: John Chest, Bernard Hansky (Nick Carraway); Elena Gorshunova (Daisy Buchanan); Raymond Verry (Tom Buchanan); Angel Blue (Myrtle Wilson); Peter Lodahl (Jay Gatsby)
Act 2 Scene 1, Ensemble Parallele
© Theater an der Wein
André Previn/Philip Littell, based on the play by Tennessee Williams
The Times writes of this compelling opera: “Previn displays a confidence in the power of pure lyricism to carry raw emotion that has not been apparent in opera since Britten's day.” The Tennessee Williams play, of course, is brilliant dramatic material as one of the most critically acclaimed works of 20th-century theater. While faithful to Williams in many ways, though, Previn and Littell’s work has a powerful sonic footing and gives an orchestra a great deal to sink their teeth into; “at times, the score seems a force of its own. The orchestral scoring is effective and affecting-atmospheric and characteristically 'American' in its directness” (Opera News).
A Streetcar Named Desire is available in full and reduced orchestrations.
Soloists: Kathryn Grumley (Blanche DuBois), Allison Pohl (Stella), Mark Davies (Stanley Kowalski), Brendan Tuohy (Mitch)
'I Want Magic,' San Francisco Opera
© Opera Omaha
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis/Thulani Davis with a story by Christopher Davis
Having enjoyed its long-overdue Metropolitan Opera debut in 2023, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X is rapidly becoming “what it always should have been: an American classic” (The New York Times). Though written in 1986, its investigation of racism in America through Malcolm X’s story remains devastatingly relevant. Throughout, Anthony Davis deftly weaves together a wide range of styles (scat, modal jazz, hip-hop, and more), creating an exhilarating ride for listeners and brilliantly sketching the story’s broad emotional terrain. While select arias have long been popular in symphonic programs, it is high time the whole opera is made available to concert audiences.
Soloists: Will Liverman, Kenneth Kellogg (Malcolm); Leah Hawkins (Louise/Betty); Victor Ryan Robertson, Joshua Stuart (Elijah)
'Shoot Your Shot,' The Metropolitan Opera
Joby Talbot/Gene Scheer
Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer’s tale of life and death on the slopes of Mount Everest generated rave reviews when it premiered at Dallas Opera in 2015: “Everest is a musically stunning, cinematically thrilling opera — tenets long held by the art form, but updated here for a new generation, and updated brilliantly” (Dallas Observer). Much of Everest’s success lies in Talbot’s talent for eliciting sympathy for the opera’s central quartet of characters, making the life-or-death stakes of the plot land with real emotional heft. The BBC Symphony’s 2023 premiere of a semi-staged version with projection design by Elaine McCarthy proves the opera’s potential for concert adaptation.
Soloists: Daniel Okulitch, Kevin Burdette (Beck); Craig Verm (Doug); Andrew Bidlack (Rob); Veronika Haller (Jan)
excerpts, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
© Edinburgh International Festival
Missy Mazzoli/Royce Vavrek, based on the film by Lars von Trier
Breaking the Waves is among the most impactful and beloved operas of the last 15 years. The Wall Street Journal calls it “savage, heartbreaking and thoroughly original,” adding that “Ms. Mazzoli’s score deftly balances trenchant arias with a kaleidoscopic orchestration whose layers and colors suggest Messiaen, Britten and Janáček but is finally all her own.” Both Mazzoli and Vavrek’s deep love of the Lars von Trier film is apparent, resulting in rich characterization and sensitive treatment of Bess McNeill and Jan Nyman’s tragic love story.
Soloists: Lauren Snouffer, Sydney Mancasola (Bess McNeill); Ryan McKinny, Duncan Rock (Jan Nyman)
'His Name is Jan,' Opera Philadelphia
© Craig T. Mathew/Los Angeles Philharmonic
John Cage’s five Europeras playfully fracture and re-assemble the European operatic tradition to create an “anarchic anti-canon” that provide a unique presentation of operatic history. Using Cage’s characteristic chance procedures, Europeras 1 & 2 present a range of arias and duets against a fragmented, decontextualized mass of brief instrumental fragments drawn from 64 European operas from Gluck to Puccini. What director Yuval Sharon calls the “joyous, anarchic, sometimes even silly” nature of the piece belies its importance as a radical re-imagination of a sometimes staid tradition. The result is “prove[s] unbelievably beautiful and powerfully moving” (Los Angeles Times).
Soloists: Justine Aronson, Julianna Di Giacomo, Laurel Irene, John Matthew Myers, Babatunde Akinboboye
excerpt, The Industry
Art’s Afterlives | Feminist Essays | Casting Off Chains: Abolition and the Civil War | The Americas: Latine Culture and History | East Asian Love Stories | Positively Medieval: Stories of the Middle Ages and Renaissance | Classics of English Fiction | The 19th Century: Great Wars and Colonial Sorrows | Upheavals of the 20th Century | The Weight of Motherhood