Our Town is a three-act opera by composerNed Rorem and librettistJ. D. McClatchy. It is the first opera to be adapted fromThornton Wilder's 1938play of the same name. The opera was commissioned byIndiana University Jacobs School of Music,Opera Boston, theAspen Music Festival and School,North Carolina School of the Arts,Lake George Opera in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., andFestival Opera in Walnut Creek, Calif.
The following principal roles appear as listed in the score published byBoosey & Hawkes:
It was premiered by Indiana University Opera Theater with student singers and orchestra on 25 February 2006. Its professional debut was at the Lake George Opera on 1 July 2006. It covers the same ground as the play, dealing with birth, maturity and death. Rorem created pleasant melodies and sparseness to maintain the feel of the original production. The opera is virtuallysung through, with little spoken dialogue. As with the play, the libretto calls for no sets, a bare stage, and limited props.
The British and European première took place in the Silk Street Theatre at theGuildhall School of Music & Drama on 29 May 2012, directed byStephen Medcalf and conducted by Clive Timms.
Opening night cast:(Main roles: Played by)
The opera was performed at the Glenn Korff School of Music at theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln November 12–15, 2009.[1] The Ohio première took place on 12 February 2010 at theBaldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio.[2] TheDrake University Department of Music presented the Iowa première in Drake's Sheslow Auditorium April 26 & 27, 2013.[3] It was performed atCentral City Opera in Colorado during the summer 2013 season and at the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University February 21–23, 2014. Boston Opera Collaborative presented the opera in June 2015, and a rare performance was heard at theEastman School of Music in April 2015 and at Opera Nuova in Edmonton in June 2015. The opera was performed at the Gallo Center for the Arts[4] in Modesto, California, by the Townsend Opera[5] January 21 & 22, 2017, and again at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium[6] in Fresno, California by the Fresno Grand Opera[7] on January 28 and 29, 2017. These two productions were essentially the same though with local choruses and orchestras. Alison Moritz was Stage Director and Ryan Murray Music Director for both productions. TheUniversity of Missouri presented the opera in March 2017 at theMissouri Theater Center for the Arts. Christine Seitz directed the production. From February 7 to February 10, 2019Southern Methodist University'sMeadows School of the Arts will perform the opera in the Bob Hope Theater at the Owen Arts Center.[8] Georgia State University Opera Theatre performed the opera on April 15 and 16, 2023 at the Rialto Theatre in Atlanta directed by Dr. JJ Hudson.Utah Festival Opera performed the opera in the Eccles Theatre inLogan, Utah during their 2023 summer season.
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