Gallantry (opera)

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Gallantry
Opera by Douglas Moore
LibrettistArnold Sundgaard
LanguageEnglish
Premiere
March 19, 1958 (1958-03-19)
Brander Matthews Theater, Colorado

Gallantry is a one-act opera by composer Douglas Moore. The work is a parody of soap opera, complete with sung commercial interruptions. The work uses an English-language libretto by Arnold Sundgaard.

The opera premiered in a double bill with Dominick Argento's The Boor on March 19, 1958, in New York City at the former Brander Matthews Theater on 117th Street, located between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive. It was produced by Columbia University School of Music with a student cast.[1] It has been staged over more than forty years by other university opera programs in the United States and Canada.

The first professional opera company to stage Gallantry was the

Lake George Opera (1986).[6] Since the late 20th century, the opera has been performed by several chamber opera ensembles, with productions being staged by the American Chamber Opera Company (1988),[7] A Small Company In America (1990),[8] the New York Chamber Ensemble (1991),[9] and Pocket Opera (2000).[10]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast,[1]
March 19, 1958
(Conductor: – Emerson Buckley)
Announcer mezzo-soprano Cecilia Ward
Lola Markham, a nurse soprano Bonnie Murray
Donald Hopewell, a patient tenor Joseph Sopher
Doctor Gregg baritone David Atkinson

Discography

  • New York Chamber Ensemble/Radcliffe Happy Endings: Comic Chamber Operas CD / Albany 173 (1995)

Productions

The work has been staged for more than 40 years by numerous university opera theatre programs in the United States and Canada, including

Houghton College (2019) among others.[23] The University of Southern California toured the opera to the Netherlands in 1968.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b H. C. S. (March 20, 1958). "Moore's Opera, 'Gallantry,' in Premiere". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Ross Parmenter (November 19, 1961). "The World of Music" (PDF). The New York Times.
  3. ^ John Patrick Shanley (August 31, 1962). "TV: Soap-Opera Satire on Channel 2; Martha Wright Excels in Work by Moore". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Allen Hughes (July 15, 1967). "Music: Previn Conducts". The New York Times.
  5. The Calgary Herald
    . February 10, 1978.
  6. Schenectady Gazette
    . July 5, 1986.
  7. ^ Bernard Holland (January 31, 1988). "Opera: Bernstein's 'Trouble in Tahiti'". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Leah D. Frank (October 14, 1990). "THEATER REVIEW; An Ambitious Troupe With Talent on Hand". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Bernard Holland (May 13, 1991). "Review/Opera; 5 Ways With Music and Drama That Share the Bond of Brevity". The New York Times.
  10. San Antonio Express
    . January 16, 2000.
  11. ^ "UCLA Gives Evening of Musical Americana". Los Angeles Times. November 21, 1958.
  12. ^ Daniel Cariaga (May 28, 1974). "Music Review:UCLA Operatic Marathon". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ "Classical Beat". Los Angeles Times. December 2, 1994.
  14. ^ "Music News". Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1968.
  15. ^ "Music Notes". The Baltimore Sun. May 23, 1969.
  16. ^ "Happenings..." The Michigan Daily. April 12, 1978.
  17. The Toronto Star
    . June 11, 1988.
  18. ^ "San Diego's Operatic Voice Is Still Strong". Los Angeles Times. April 14, 1989.
  19. ^ "Operatic Tragedy, Comedy Presented". Oxnard Press-Courier. March 31, 1990.
  20. ^ "Pocket-sized operas pleasingly polished in WLU production". Waterloo Region Record. February 29, 1992.
  21. The Arizona Daily Star
    . November 3, 1995.
  22. ^ "GWU Performance Corrects Operatic Misconceptions". The Washington Post. February 18, 1999.
  23. ^ "UW-SP to hold one-act operas". Stevens Point Journal. April 7, 2003.
  24. ^ "USC Acting Troupe to Play in Holland". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 1968.