New recordings in my collection : American operas released by Pentatone

I have recently acquired two recordings of American operas released by Pentatone :

- John Corigliano : The Ghosts of Versailles, recorded live at the Los Angeles Music Center in February and March 2015. James Conlon conducts a cast including Kristinn Sigmundsson (Louis XVI), Christopher Maltman (Beaumarchais), Patricia Racette (Marie Antoinette), Lucas Meachem (Figaro), Lucy Schaufer (Susanna), Joshua Guerrero (Count Almaviva) and Guanqun Yu (Rosina).

- Jennifer Higdon : Cold Mountain, recorded live at the Santa Fe Opera in August 2015.Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts a cast including Nathan Gunn (W. P. Inman), Ada Monroe (Isabel Leonard), Emily Fons (Ruby Thewes), Jay Hunter Morris (Teague) and Roger Honeywell (Solomon Veasey).

Today : East Coast première of Jennifer Higdon's 'Cold Mountain' in Philadelphia

Today, Opera Philadelphia presents the East Coast première of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain. The opera, with a libretto by Gene Scheer was first performed in Santa Fe on August 1st, 2015.

Jarett Ott (W.P. Inman) and Ada Monroe (Isabel Leonard), (c) Kelly &Massa

 

The libretto is based on the Charles Frazier novel.

Fatigued by the horrors of the Civil War, deserter W.P. Inman foots the arduous terrain of North Carolina toward home and the salve of his love, Ada Monroe, herself transformed by his absence. Once a Southern lady of privilege, Ada adapts to years of profound deprivation thanks to a resourceful new friend, Ruby. Inman’s odyssey home is plagued by not only the Home Guard’s marshals, but a more gruesome possibility: has the war’s violence withered his human capacity to love? And further, what truly makes a man a human ? (reproduced from the Opera Philadelphia website).

The cast is almost the same as in Santa Fe : baritone Jarett Ott (W.P. Inman, replacing Nathan Gunn), mezzo Isabel Leonard (Ada Monroe), mezzo Cecilia Hall (Ruby Thewes), tenor Jay Hunter Morris (Teague), bass Kevin Burdette (Stobrod), baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore (Reverend Monroe). Corrado Rovaris replaces Miguel Harth-Bedoya in the pit and Leonard Foglia directs.

The performance should last about 2 hours and 45 minutes, including a 20 minute interval.

New in my collection : from the Santa Fe Opera Festival

I have recently acquired several items from the Santa Fe Opera Festival :

- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2009 (76 pages) , with an article on The Letter, new opera composed by Paul Moravec ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2013 (80 pages) , with an article on Oscar, new opera composed by Theodore Morrison ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2014 (80 pages), with an article on Dr. Sun Yat-sen, new opera composed by Huang Ruo ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2015 (80 pages), with an article on Cold Mountain, new opera composed by Jennifer Higdon ;

- Gene Scheer : Cold Mountain, libretto for the opera composed by Jennifer Higdon (78 pages) ;
- programme book for the 2015 season at the Santa Fe Opera (168 pages)

It contains only 8 pages entirely dedicated to this opera with :

- complete cast and crew (with B&W headshots) ;
- synopsis ;
- Ascending Cold Mountain, by librettist Gene Scheer ;
- A Note from the Director, by Leonard Foglia.

August 1st : world première of Jennifer Higdon's 'Cold Mountain' in Santa Fe

Today, Jennifer Higdon's first opera, Cold Mountain, with a libretto by Gene Scheer after Charles Frazier's novel, will be performed at the Santa Fe Opera Theater.

Jennifer Higdon has been working on the opera since 2009, and completed it in September 2013. It was originally commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, but several right issues postponed it for several years. In December 2012 and December 2013, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (where Higdon teaches) organized workshop performances of some excerpts.

The libretto tells the story of W. P. Inman, a wounded deserter from the Confederate army near the end of the American Civil War who walks for months to return to Ada Monroe, the love of his life. (reproduced from Wikipedia)

The cast includes Jay Hunter Morris (Teague), Nathan Gunn (Inman), Isabel Leonard (Ada), Emily Fons (Ruby), Anthony Michaels-Moore (Monroe) and Kevin Burdette (Stobrod). Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts and Leonard Foglia directs.

The opera will also be performed in Philadelphia in February 2016 and then at the North Carolina Opera during the 2017-2018 season. Ultimately, a recording of the New Mexico performances is to be published by Pentatone.