''Soyazhe'' 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 one act by Garland Anderson. The opera 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 Jamie Lee Cooper and premiered at the

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 ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

on July 28, 1979, with

Joy Davidson Joy Davidson (August 18, 1937 – February 5, 2023) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, actress, and pedagogue. She performed internationally in many of the world's great opera houses. Life and career A native of Fort Collins, Colorado, David ...

in the title role. The opera tells a tale of necromancy and betrayal among a Navajo tribe. Music critic Bill Zakariasen wrote in his review of the opera in ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online magazine, online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. ...

'', "This muddled tale of necromancy among the Navajos only turned our understanding of these people back to a wigwam one. Anderson's music, despite its lack of authentic racial atmosphere, proved well-orchestrated, smoothly developed, and firmly attuned to the dramatic action."Recent American opera: a production guide By Rebecca Hodell Kornick
/ref>

Roles

*Soyazhe (

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 ...

) *Ruins, ''Soyazhe's father'' (

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 ...

) *Witch Slayer, ''a witch doctor'' (

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 ...

) *Bitter Water, ''Soyazhe's mother'' (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

) *Stands Alone, ''a young brave and Soyazhe's husband'' (tenor) *Crier (

)

References

1979 operas English-language operas Operas One-act operas Operas set in the United States {{english-opera-stub