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Operas
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A Quiet Place is an American opera in three acts, with music by Leonard Bernstein to a libretto by Stephen Wadsworth. The work is a sequel to Bernstein's earlier short opera Trouble in Tahiti. In its initial form, A Quiet Place was in one act, and followed Trouble in Tahiti after the intermission.
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Performance history and revisions
The first performance was on 17 June 1983 by the Houston Grand Opera.[1]
After being panned by critics ("To call the result a pretentious failure is putting it kindly")[2], Bernstein and Wadsworth withdrew the opera and revised it. Some scenes were cut, and Trouble in Tahiti was incorporated into the opera as a flashback, becoming (most of) the second act of the new three-act version. The revised version was given at La Scala, Milan and at Washington Opera in 1984.[3] The work was subsequently performed by the Vienna State Opera under the composer's baton in April 1986 with Jean Kraft as Dinah. These performances were recorded by Deutsche Grammophon for commercial release. The UK premiere was in December 1988 at the Corn Exchange Theatre, Cambridge, with the composer in attendance.[4]
Roles and role creators
- Sam Chester Ludgin
- Junior, Sam's son Timothy Nolen
- Dede, Sam's daughter Sheri Greenwald
- François, Junior's boyfriend, later Dede's husband Peter Kazaras
- Sam as a young man Edward Crofts
- Dinah, Sam's wife Diane Kesling
Recording
- Deutsche Grammophon 419 761-2: Beverly Morgan, Wendy White, Peter Kazaras, Chester Ludgin, John Brandsetter, Edward Crafts; Jean Kraft; Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, conductor[5]
References
- ^ Donal Henahan (1983-06-20). "Bernstein's 'Quiet Place' Opens in Houston". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E3DC123BF933A15755C0A965948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ Donal Henahan, ibid.
- ^ Bernard Holland (1984-07-24). "A Quiet Place by Bernstein, in Washington". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE5DB1E39F937A15754C0A962948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ Hayes, Malcolm, "First Performances: A Quiet Place" (March 1989). Tempo (New Ser.), 168: pp. 45-46.
- ^ Rimer, J. Thomas, "Recording Reviews: Nixon in China/A Quiet Place" (Autumn, 1994). American Music, 12 (3): pp. 338-341.
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