- A Quiet Place
"A Quiet Place" is an American
opera in three acts, with music byLeonard Bernstein to alibretto byStephen 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.Performance history and revisions
The first performance was on
17 June 1983 by theHouston Grand Opera . [cite news | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E3DC123BF933A15755C0A965948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title=Bernstein's 'Quiet Place' Opens in Houston | publisher="New York Times" | author=Donal Henahan | date=1983-06-20 | accessdate=2007-10-06]After being panned by critics ("To call the result a pretentious failure is putting it kindly") [Donal Henahan, "ibid."] , 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 atLa Scala , Milan and atWashington Opera in 1984. [cite news | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE5DB1E39F937A15754C0A962948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title="A Quiet Place" by Bernstein, in Washington | publisher="New York Times" | author=Bernard Holland | date=1984-07-24 | accessdate=2007-10-06] The work was subsequently performed by theVienna State Opera under the composer's baton in April 1986. These performances were recorded byDeutsche Grammophon for commercial release. The UK premiere was in December 1988 at the Corn Exchange Theatre, Cambridge, with the composer in attendance. [Hayes, Malcolm, "First Performances: "A Quiet Place" (March 1989). "Tempo" (New Ser.), 168: pp. 45-46.]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 KeslingRecording
*
Deutsche Grammophon 419 761-2: Beverly Morgan, Wendy White, Peter Kazaras, Chester Ludgin, John Brandsetter, Edward Crafts; Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra;Leonard Bernstein , conductor [Rimer, J. Thomas, "Recording Reviews: "Nixon in China" / "A Quiet Place" (Autumn, 1994). "American Music", 12 (3): pp. 338-341.]References
Musicals and operas of Leonard Bernstein
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