''Cabildo'' is the only

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

by the American composer

Amy Beach Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (September 5, 1867December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra ...

, her opus 149. This chamber opera is in one act and has a libretto by Nan Bagby Stephens. Beach composed the music in 1932 and made use of folksong and Creole tunes. However, the work was not performed in her lifetime and received its first performance in 1947. Subsequent performances were in 1981, at the

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, and in 1982, at the

American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legiti ...

meeting and the Sonneck Society. The first fully professional production was on May 13, 1995, as part of the "Great Performers at Lincoln Center" series, led by Ransom Wilson and directed by Hans Nieuwenhuis. The

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

premiere of ''Cabildo'' was performed by Houston's Opera Vista on September 22, 2007 at the Museum of Fine Arts' Bayou Bend, conducted by Opera Vista's Artistic Director, Viswa Subbaraman and stage directed by Chuck Winkler. This performance led to Opera Vista being invited to perform ''Cabildo'' at the actual Cabildo in New Orleans on April 18, 2009. The performance was again conducted by Viswa Subbaraman with stage direction by Joe Carl White. In 2017

Central City Opera Central City Opera is the fifth-oldest opera company in the United States, founded in 1932 by Julie Penrose and Anne Evans. Each festival is presented in the 550-seat historic Central City Opera House built in 1878 in the gold mining era town of ...

produced a fully stage version as part of their summer festival. ''Cabildo'' was performed at the

Grimeborn Grimeborn is an annual East London musical theatre and opera festival which coincides with the world famous East Sussex Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Founded by Arcola Theatre's artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2007, the festival is held at Ar ...

Festival at the Arcola Theatre, Dalston, London in August 2019, directed by Emma Jude Harris with piano trio accompaniment conducted by John Warner.

Roles

* Barker (spoken role) * Tom (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

) * Mary (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

) * Pierre Lafitte (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

) * Dominique You (

) * Gaoler (bass) * The Lady Valerie (soprano)

Synopsis

Prologue

The Cabildo The Cabildo, originally called "Casa Capitular", is a historical building in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally the seat of Spanish colonial city hall, the building now forms part of the Louisiana State Museum. It is located along Jackson Squar ...

, a tour guide (Barker) leads a group of tourists to the cell where the notorious pirate,

Pierre Lafitte Pierre Lafitte (c. 1770–1821) was a pirate in the Gulf of Mexico and smuggler in the early 19th century. He also ran a blacksmith shop in New Orleans, his legitimate business. Pierre was historically less well known than his younger brother, J ...

, was imprisoned during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The guide tells the story of ''Pierre and his beloved Lady Valerie'', then leads the group on. Tom and Mary, two newlyweds, remain in the cell and sing of their love. Tom rejoins the tour group while Mary stays behind, saying that she is tired. Wondering about the pirate and his lover, she falls asleep.

The Dream

It is now 1812. The British hold New Orleans under siege and Pierre Lafitte awaits execution in his cell. He is wrongly accused of having ordered the destruction of his own ship, the Falcon, and of the death of his lover Lady Valerie (who was a passenger) in order to cover his supposed theft of her bracelet. Alone in his cell, he vows to find Valerie before facing the firing squad. The drunken Gaoler brings Lafitte's lieutenant, Dominique You, into the cell. Dominique tells Pierre that General (later President)

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

has come to an agreement with Pierre's brother Jean Lafitte. Pierre will find the cell door open for his escape, in return for the pirates' full participation in breaking the British siege and defending New Orleans. Pierre, however, is more concerned about the fate of Valerie. Dominique reluctantly tells him that the Falcon is lost, and urges him to tell the truth about the bracelet, which Valerie gave him as a token of their love. Pierre refuses, then sings of his love for Valerie. Dominique gives Pierre the bracelet which, minutes earlier, he had surreptitiously removed from the Governor's desk. He leaves as Pierre invokes Valerie's name. The ghost of Valerie appears and tells of the destruction of the Falcon and her subsequent drowning by one of Lafitte's own men. Pierre now wishes only to join her in death, but Valerie insists that he clear his name by joining General Jackson. They recall the evening when she gave Pierre the bracelet, and then sing of their love in a climactic duet. As she leaves, Valerie tells Pierre she has unlocked the cell door, making way for his escape.

Epilogue

Tom returns to the cell to find Mary awakening from her dream. She insists that her dream was real, and that "it was not the General who made a hero of Lafitte. It was the Lady Valerie and love."

Recording

* Delos DE 3170: Stephen Mo Hanan, Anthony Dean Griffey,

Charlotte Hellekant Anna Charlotte Hellekant (born 15 January 1962 in Stockholm) is a Swedish operatic mezzo-soprano. Hellekant studied at the Philadelphia and New York conservatories. She began her career in 1989 and played among others Dido, ''Ariadne auf Naxos'', ...

, Eugene Perry, Paul Groves, Thomas Paul, Lauren Flanigan; The New York Concert Singers; Instrumental ensemble; Ransom Wilson, conductor

References

External links

US Opera link

Delos Records page on recording
{{Portal bar, Classical music, Opera, Music English-language operas Operas set in the United States Operas Operas by Amy Beach 1932 operas