Giants in the Earth is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera in three acts and four scenes by composer Douglas Moore. The work uses an English libretto by Arnold Sundgaard (1909–2006) after Ole Edvart Rølvaag's 1924-5 novel of the same name. The idea for the opera was originally conceived by Sundgaard, and depicts a story of tragedy and romance among Norwegian American settlers of Dakota Territory in 1873.[1] Composed during 1949-1949, the work was premiered on March 28, 1951 at Columbia University's Brander Matthews Theatre by the Columbia Opera Workshop.[2]
The Pulitzer jury concluded: "In no opera by an American is there music of such freshness, beauty, and distinctive character. The music has a life of its own apart from its appositeness to the text... Subject, text, and music avoid the cliché and commonplace and combine for an impression of strength and sincerity."[3] Moore's compositional style is highly vocal and features a speech-like, through-composed, "lack of melodic repetition," with a, "fluidity and natural feel [to] the vocal lines."[4] Contrastingly, the lack of character development and liveliness, the almost complete lack of attention grabbing motifs, the length, and the premiere performance have all been criticized.[5]Olin Downes of The New York Times wrote that the opera was mostly, "recitative of little inherent significance."[5]
The premiere cast included soprano Brenda Miller Cooper as the central figure Beret, along with Josh Wheeler, Roy Johnson, Vivian Bauer, Sam Bertsche, Helen Dautrich, James Cosenza, Frances Paige, Raymond Sharp, and Edward Black.[6] In 1963 Moore improved the orchestration and depiction of Beret at the request of Carl Fischer Music.[7]
Despite its acclaim, in the decades since first being written Giants in the Earth has scarcely been performed live and no recordings of the opera are accessible to the public. In 2023 following a major donation, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra announced plans to revive the opera with recordings to be made public via South Dakota Public Broadcasting.[8]
^ abJerry L. McBride (2011). Douglas Moore: A Bio-bibliography. A-R Editions. p. 120-121. ISBN9780895796660.
^ abClifton, Chalmers and Lockwood, Norman (April 9, 1951). "Report of the Pulitzer Prize Music Jury", p.1. New York. cited in Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Erika J. Fischer, eds. (2001). Musical Composition Awards 1943-1999: From Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to Gian-Carlo Menotti and Melinda Wagner, p.xxi n.24. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN9783110955750.
^McBride, Jerry L. (2011). Douglas Moore: A Bio-bibliography, p.39. A-R Editions. ISBN9780895796660.
giants, earth, opera, giants, earth, 1951, pulitzer, prize, winning, opera, three, acts, four, scenes, composer, douglas, moore, work, uses, english, libretto, arnold, sundgaard, 1909, 2006, after, edvart, rølvaag, 1924, novel, same, name, idea, opera, origina. Giants in the Earth is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning opera in three acts and four scenes by composer Douglas Moore The work uses an English libretto by Arnold Sundgaard 1909 2006 after Ole Edvart Rolvaag s 1924 5 novel of the same name The idea for the opera was originally conceived by Sundgaard and depicts a story of tragedy and romance among Norwegian American settlers of Dakota Territory in 1873 1 Composed during 1949 1949 the work was premiered on March 28 1951 at Columbia University s Brander Matthews Theatre by the Columbia Opera Workshop 2 Giants in the EarthOpera by Douglas MooreLibrettistArnold SundgaardLanguageEnglishBased onOle Edvart Rolvaag s Giants in the EarthPremiereMarch 28 1951 1951 03 28 Columbia University New York City The Pulitzer jury concluded In no opera by an American is there music of such freshness beauty and distinctive character The music has a life of its own apart from its appositeness to the text Subject text and music avoid the cliche and commonplace and combine for an impression of strength and sincerity 3 Moore s compositional style is highly vocal and features a speech like through composed lack of melodic repetition with a fluidity and natural feel to the vocal lines 4 Contrastingly the lack of character development and liveliness the almost complete lack of attention grabbing motifs the length and the premiere performance have all been criticized 5 Olin Downes of The New York Times wrote that the opera was mostly recitative of little inherent significance 5 The premiere cast included soprano Brenda Miller Cooper as the central figure Beret along with Josh Wheeler Roy Johnson Vivian Bauer Sam Bertsche Helen Dautrich James Cosenza Frances Paige Raymond Sharp and Edward Black 6 In 1963 Moore improved the orchestration and depiction of Beret at the request of Carl Fischer Music 7 The runners up for the Pulitzer that year were Quincy Porter s String Quartet No 8 Peter Mennin s Symphony No 5 and David Diamond s Symphony No 3 3 Despite its acclaim in the decades since first being written Giants in the Earth has scarcely been performed live and no recordings of the opera are accessible to the public In 2023 following a major donation the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra announced plans to revive the opera with recordings to be made public via South Dakota Public Broadcasting 8 Contents 1 Roles 2 Synopsis 2 1 Act 1 2 2 Act 2 2 3 Act 3 3 References 4 External linksRoles editRole Voice type Premiere Cast 28 March 1951 conductor Willard Rhodes 2 Per Hansa Baritone Josh Wheeler Beret his wife Soprano Brenda Miller Cooper Hans Olsa Bass Baritone Roy Johnson Sorrine his wife Contralto Viviane Bauer Syvert Tonetsen Tenor Samuel Bertsche Kjersti his wife Soprano Helen Dautrich Henry Tenor James Cosenza Dagmar Soprano Frances Paige A Preacher Baritone Raymond Sharp O Hara Bass Edward Block Sullivan Roger Farrand Ola amp Anna Children of Per and Beret Donald Stammer Ellen Spencer Dancers at the weddingSynopsis editAct 1 edit The crest of a low hill early morning in Spring Act 2 edit Interior of the sod hut of Per Hansa a June afternoon Act 3 edit Scene 1 Outside the hut A Sunday morning in September Scene 2 Interior of the hut Late at night in February References edit Eaton Quaintance 1961 Opera Production A Handbook Volume 1 p 73 University of Minnesota Press ISBN 9780816657537 a b Jerry L McBride 2011 Douglas Moore A Bio bibliography A R Editions p 120 121 ISBN 9780895796660 a b Clifton Chalmers and Lockwood Norman April 9 1951 Report of the Pulitzer Prize Music Jury p 1 New York cited in Heinz Dietrich Fischer Erika J Fischer eds 2001 Musical Composition Awards 1943 1999 From Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to Gian Carlo Menotti and Melinda Wagner p xxi n 24 Walter de Gruyter ISBN 9783110955750 McBride Jerry L 2011 Douglas Moore A Bio bibliography p 39 A R Editions ISBN 9780895796660 a b McBride 2011 p 39 40 Columbia Giving Opera Giants in the Earth 11th in Series Will Open March 28 The New York Times March 6 1951 Retrieved May 22 2009 McBride 2011 p 59 Keene C J South Dakota Symphony Orchestra receives largest donation in history South Dakota Public Broadcasting Retrieved January 18 2023 External links edit Moore s Opera Makes World Debut Tonight Spectator Archive Portals nbsp Opera nbsp Classical music nbsp Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Giants in the Earth opera amp oldid 1160752514, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
