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American Operas
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Susannah
Composer: Carlisle Floyd Synopsis: A young innocent girl, Susannah, is falsely accused of promiscuity by the church elders in a small Tennessee town, leading to tragic consequences.
The Crucible
Composer: Robert Ward Synopsis: Based on Arthur Miller's play, it dramatizes the Salem witch trials, and the hysteria that can befall a community when fear and suspicion are unchecked.
Porgy and Bess
Composer: George Gershwin Synopsis: The story follows a disabled black street-beggar living in the slums of Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of a drug dealer, Crown, and the sportin' life.
Doctor Atomic
Composer: John Adams Synopsis: The opera recounts the anxious moments leading up to the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico and delves into the complex personality of its creator, J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The Death of Klinghoffer
Composer: John Adams Synopsis: This opera explores the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship by the Palestine Liberation Front, and the murder of Jewish-American passenger Leon Klinghoffer.
The Ghosts of Versailles
Composer: John Corigliano Synopsis: The opera features the character of Beaumarchais, who attempts to alter the course of the French Revolution and save Marie Antoinette from the guillotine.
The Great Gatsby
Composer: John Harbison Synopsis: Drawing from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, this opera captures the highs and lows of the Jazz Age through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway.
Little Women
Composer: Mark Adamo Synopsis: Based on Louisa May Alcott's novel, the opera focuses on the lives and loves of the March sisters during the American Civil War.
Street Scene
Composer: Kurt Weill Synopsis: The opera takes place on the stoop of a New York City tenement and combines aspects of European opera and American musical theater to depict the everyday lives and relationships of the diverse inhabitants.
Cold Sassy Tree
Composer: Carlisle Floyd Synopsis: The opera follows the life of a small-town Georgia family at the beginning of the 20th century, addressing themes such as religion, social change, and acceptance.
A Quiet Place
Composer: Leonard Bernstein Synopsis: The work is a sequel to Bernstein's earlier opera 'Trouble in Tahiti' and deals with the breakdown of the American family.
The Aspern Papers
Composer: Dominick Argento Synopsis: Based on the novella by Henry James, an American editor travels to Venice seeking the love letters of a famous poet, becoming entangled in a game of literary intrigue.
Miss Havisham's Fire
Composer: Dominick Argento Synopsis: The opera is based on the eccentric character Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens' 'Great Expectations' and explores her tragic life story.
Moby-Dick
Composer: Jake Heggie Synopsis: This opera adapts Herman Melville's classic novel, focusing on Captain Ahab's obsession with the white whale.
Dead Man Walking
Composer: Jake Heggie Synopsis: The opera is a journey through the American justice system and the personal challenges of forgiveness, focusing on a nun's relationship with a convicted murderer on death row.
Vanessa
Composer: Samuel Barber Synopsis: In a cold, northern country, a woman waits for her lost love to return, while her niece becomes involved with the man Vanessa once loved.
The Ballad of Baby Doe
Composer: Douglas Moore Synopsis: The opera is based on a true story about a wealthy Colorado miner's wife, Elizabeth Doe, and her husband's fall from grace.
Nixon in China
Composer: John Adams Synopsis: The opera is about the visit of President Nixon to China and his historic meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong in 1972.
Transatlantic
Composer: George Antheil Synopsis: This 'Opera-Mélodrame' deals with a political conflict involving a fictional American president and a love triangle set amidst a transatlantic crossing.
Lizzie Borden
Composer: Jack Beeson Synopsis: This opera dramatizes the life of Lizzie Borden, who was famously accused and acquitted of the axe murders of her father and stepmother in the late 19th century.
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