Carry Nation (opera)
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''Carry Nation'' is an
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 ...
in a prologue and two acts by American composer
Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...
which is based on the life of temperance activist
Carrie Nation Caroline Amelia Nation (November 25, 1846June 9, 1911), often referred to as Carrie, Carry Nation, Carrie A. Nation, or Hatchet Granny, was an American who was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent ...
, whose sometimes spelled her first name "Carry". The work uses an English-language
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by W. N. Jayme. The opera was commissioned by the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
in commemoration of the school's 100th anniversary. The premiere performance was given at KU's Murphy Hall on March 28, 1966 with a cast headlined by four professional opera singers brought in for the event, and the supporting cast supplied by KU's music and theatre students. Lewin Goff staged the production and Robert Baustian conducted. The opera was subsequently given its first professional production at the
San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...
in June 1966 under the baton of Herbert Grossman. The
New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
mounted the first New York production in March 1968 and released a recording of the work in 1969. All three of these initial stagings and the recording starred mezzo-soprano Beverly Wolff in the title role.


References

{{Portal bar, Opera, Classical music, Music Operas Operas set in the United States English-language operas 1966 operas Operas set in the 19th century Operas set in the 20th century Operas based on real people Cultural depictions of American people Operas by Douglas Moore University of Kansas
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 ...