| Subtitle | piano vocal score (pre-publication proof of corrected edition 2017) |
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| Text information | Libretto by J.D. McClatchy
based on the novel by Judith Rossner |
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| Year(s) composed | 1996 |
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| Publisher | Schott Music |
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| Instrumentation | opera in two acts |
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| Duration | 120' |
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| Premiere | July 27, 1996; Santa Fe, NM; The Santa Fe Opera
Conductor: George Manahan · Choir director: Gary Wedow · Staging: Francesca Zambello · Costumes: Dunya Ramicova · Stage design: Robert Israel |
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| Commission | Commissioned by The Santa Fe Opera through the generosity of a friend
Dedicated to Emily Coates Sundt |
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| Language | English |
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| Synopsis | Based on the novel by Judith Rossner, "Emmeline" is an American retelling of the Oedipus myth from the mother’s viewpoint. The opera begins in 1841, when 13-year-old Emmeline is sent to work in a Massachusetts mill to earn money. Seduced by the factory supervisor, she gives birth to a child, who is then swiftly given away. Twenty years later, Emmeline marries a young man only to discover too late that he is in fact her son. She becomes irrevocably ostracized by society. Heidi Waleson writing in The Wall Street Journal called it "a measure by which I assess the theatrical impact of other new operas. With its poetic, streamlined libretto and Mr. Picker’s vivid score, this two-hour opera is continuously gripping, without a wasted note." |
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| Roles | Emmeline Mosher · soprano - Sophie · soprano - Harriet Mosher · soprano - Ella Burling · soprano - Mrs Bass · mezzo-soprano - Aunt Hannah Watkins · mezzo-soprano - Matthew Gurney · tenor - Mr Maguire · baritone - Hooker · tenor - Simon Fenton · baritone - Henry Mosher · bass - Pastor Avery · bass - women's chorus |
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