The Stronger is anopera in one act by composerHugo Weisgall. The English-languagelibretto by Richard Hart is based onAugust Strindberg's 1889play of the same name.[1] It premiered at theWhite Barn Theatre inWestport, Connecticut, on August 9, 1952 and was dedicated to that theatre's founder, the actressLucille Lortel.[2]
The Stronger is an approximately 25 minute stagedduodrama that is in many respects amonologue with one singing role, Estelle (coloratura soprano),[3] and one silent role, Lisa. The opera takes place at a bar on Christmas Eve. The two women meet at the establishment and Estelle talks to her friend Lisa about her family. In the course of the conversation Estelle informs Lisa that she knows that Lisa is in love with her husband Harold. As Estelle leaves the bar she comes to the conclusion that she, Estelle, is the stronger of the two women.[4] But is she? Weisgall said of the opera:
From the first I regarded this piece as an experiment, a kind of operatic exercise. My primary task was to find ways to translate Strindberg’s psychological monodrama, with its rapid, constantly changing moods and its almost total lack of sustained moments, into musical terms. The chief problem was that the music had to function alternately as background and foreground—at times pure atmosphere, then shifting between characterizing the protagonist, Estelle, and picturing the physical movements of the wordless Lisa. Also I sought somehow to balance the two roles more equally. Rather than conform to the traditional theatrical interpretation in which “the star” plays the silent role and comes out on top, I tried to leave open the question as to which of the two women is really “the stronger.[5]
The Stronger was first performed at the White Barn Theatre in Westport, Connecticut, for four performances in August 1952 by the Hilltop Opera Company of Baltimore, Maryland. The production used piano accompaniment, and soprano Eva Bober portrayed Estelle for three of the four performances. Weisgall had composed the work specifically for the group during the spring and summer prior to its premiere.[5]
The first performance of the work with an orchestra (scaled for only 8 musicians) was given at the Composers Forum atColumbia University in New York City in January 1955 with sopranoAdelaide Bishop and theColumbia Chamber Orchestra under the baton ofSiegfried Landau.[4] That 1955 performance was recorded and another recording of the opera was made with sopranoJohanna Meier and theAeolian Chamber Players on theNew World Records label in 1972.[5] Bishop also sang the role for the opera's New York City premiere in 1950 and directed the opera for a 1995 production starring soprano Darynn Zimmer at the White Barn Theatre.[2] SopranoJoyce Mathis performed the work at the92nd Street Y in 1969 in a concert organized by theLeague of Composers.[6] TheBaltimore Opera Company staged the work in 1985 in a triple bill titled "American Portraits" that also includedThomas Pasatieri'sLa Divina (1952) and the world premiere ofLee Hoiby'sItalian Lesson.[7]
Initially Weisgall had intended forThe Stronger to be a work that could be performed as a pair with his operaThe Tenor (1952). However, years later he determined that it would fit better as part of a trilogy with two other operas he composed:Purgatory (1958) andWill You Marry Me? (1989).[5]The Stronger and Weisgall'sThe Golden Peacock were performed at the occasion of the latter work's premiere by theOpera Ensemble of New York with Cecelia Wasson as Estelle.[8]
| Opera |
|
|---|---|
