''Brief Encounter'' is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
in two acts by
composer André Previn. The English
libretto by
John Caird is based on
Noël Coward's play ''
Still Life'' and Coward's
screenplay for the 1945
David Lean film ''
Brief Encounter
''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''.
Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...
''. Commissioned by the
Houston Grand Opera, the opera premiered on May 1, 2009 in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, Texas at the
Wortham Theater Center
The Wortham Theater Center is a performing arts center located in downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The Wortham Theater Center, designed by Eugene Aubry of Morris Architects, was built out of private funds totaling over $66 Million. The ...
.
The production starred
Elizabeth Futral
Susan Elizabeth Futral (born September 27, 1963 in Johnston County, North Carolina) is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim (as both singer and actress) throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan.
E ...
as Laura Jesson and
Nathan Gunn as Alec Harvey, with Rebekah Camm, Meredith Arwady, Robert Orth, and Kim Josephson as supporting soloists and
Patrick Summers
Patrick Summers (born August 14, 1963) is an American conductor best known for his work with Houston Grand Opera (HGO), where he has been the artistic and music director since 2011, and with San Francisco Opera, where he served as principal gue ...
conducting. A recording was issued on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Further reading
* Frédéric Döhl: ''About the Task of Adapting a Movie Classic for the Opera Stage: On André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1998) and Brief Encounter (2009)''. In: Frédéric Döhl &
Gregor Herzfeld
Gregor Herzfeld (born in 1975) is a German musicologist.
Life and career
Herzfeld studied musicology and philosophy at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg and at the "Scuola di Paleografia musicale" from 1996 to 2001. In 2001 he obtained ...
(edits.)
In Search of the Great American Opera: Tendenzen des amerikanischen Musiktheaters Münster 2016, p. 147–175.
* Frédéric Döhl:
'' In ''
Archiv für Musikwissenschaft
The ''Archiv für Musikwissenschaft'' is a quarterly German-English-speaking trade magazine devoted to music history and historical musicology, which publishes articles by well-known academics and young scholars.
It was founded in 1918 as the s ...
'' 70/4 (2013), .
References
External links
Brief Encounter at houstongrandopera.org
2009 operas
English-language operas
Operas by André Previn
Operas
Opera world premieres at Houston Grand Opera
Operas based on films
Operas set in England
Operas set in London
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