Tragedy and opera. The two are such frequent bedfellows that it got us thinking about operas in our catalogues that are noteworthy flagbearers of the tragic-opera form. Our next Schott Aktuell features an extensive repertory focus titled "The Tragic Muse in Contemporary Opera" and will explore a variety of works in the genre. As a prelude to Aktuell, we've made a few choices of operas available from the Schott/EAM catalogues to help whet your tragic impulse.

Tobias Picker
An American Tragedy (2005)
an opera in two acts
libretto (En) by Gene Scheer
 145'

An American Tragedy, which had its world premiere at The Metropolitan Opera in 2005, is based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser. The opera tells the story of the young social climber Clyde Griffiths who, in order to advance his career, stops at nothing to get ahead, including murder. An American Tragedy will soon be available in a new chamber orchestration.

Tobias Picker
Emmeline (1995)
an opera in two acts
libretto (En) by J.D. McClatchy
120'

Based on the novel by Judith Rossner, Emmeline revisits the classic Oedipus myth but this time from the mother's perspective. The opera was premiered in its new chamber orchestration at Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York City this past fall. Following the premiere, Heidi Waleson of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the opera is "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 or word."

Stewart Wallace
Harvey Milk (1995)
an opera in three acts
libretto (En) by Michael Korie
120'

Harvey Milk, which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera in 1995, chronicles the life and times of the historical figure and martyred gay-rights activist Harvey Milk. Mark Adamo wrote of the premiere in The Washington Post, "Harvey Milk is an astounding achievement -- lively, artful, tough-minded American music-drama, deeply satisfying to ear, eye and mind" and John von Rhein of The Chicago Tribune called Harvey Milk "... one of the best new operas in years."

Lee Hoiby
Summer and Smoke (1971)
an opera in two acts
libretto (En) by Lanford Wilson after the play by Tennessee Williams
full evening

Lee Hoiby's opera is based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name and is set in a small Mississippi town where the young, sexually repressed Alma Winemiller is jilted by the wild and undisciplined town doctor, John Buchanan. While aware on one level of her alluring and charming nature, Alma is increasingly haunted by inner demons that brand her too fragile to cope with the harsh realities of the world around her. The play revisits a tragic theme often found in Williams' work where his protagonists, often female, valiantly confront emotional crises only to be ultimately broken by their inability to cope with the conditions that surround them.

Leoš Janácek
Jenůfa (1894-1908/1916)
an opera in three acts
libretto (Czech) by the composer after the play Her Stepdaughter by Gabriela Preissová
English translations by Edward Downes and Otakar Kraus
120'

Leoš Janácek' first opera is a grim story of infanticide and redemption. Jenůfa is carrying the child of Steva, whom she hopes will marry her. Steva's half-brother, Laca, angered by Jenufa's focus on Števa, lashes out at her. When Števa loses interest in Jenůfa, Kostelnička cares for her, and persuades Jenůfa to reconsider Laca. After Jenůfa reluctantly agrees, Kostelnička commits a crime that she believes will secure Jenufa's honor, as well as her own.

Christian Jost
Hamlet (2008)
12 musical theatre tableaux after William Shakespeare
libretto (Ger) by the composer
135'

Jost interprets Shakespeare's tragedy as the "story of a surrealistic journey into the interior." Hamlet's long and painful search for truth and knowledge reflects the eternal existential question of a man who has lost all sense of security following a dramatic experience. Jost's Hamlet is sung by a female voice which suggests the universal validity of tragedy beyond the fate of a single individual.

Benjamin Britten
Death in Venice (1973)
an opera in two acts
libretto (En) Myfanwy Piper based on the novella by Thomas Mann
145'

Britten's final opera, Death in Venice stands as the culmination of the composer's unique contribution to the 20th-century operatic repertory. The opera is based on the novella by Thomas Mann, in which the aging novelist, Gustav von Aschenbach, seeks inspiration for his work in Venice and becomes smitten with the bloom of youthful beauty in the person of the boy Tadzio. Edward Greenfield writing in The Guardian comments, "Britten has once again proved the impossible. Thomas Mann's Death in Venice, a compressed and intense story, an artist's inner monologue, lacking conversation, lacking plot, has against all odds become a great opera."

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