A Streetcar Named Desire is an opera composed by André Previn with a libretto by Philip Littell in 1995. It is based on the play by Tennessee Williams and received its premiere at the San Francisco Opera during the 1998-99 season.
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Cast
- Blanche - Renée Fleming
- Stanley - Rod Gilfry (formerly Rodney Gilfry)
- Stella - Elizabeth Futral
- Mitch - Anthony Dean Griffey
- Eunice - Judith Forst
- Steve - Matthew Lord
- Newspaper Collector - Jeffrey Lentz
- The Mexican - Josepha Gayer
- Pablo - Luis Oropeza
- The Doctor - Ray Reinhardt
- The Nurse - Lynne Soffer
Technical
- Conductor - André Previn
- Stage Director - Colin Graham
- Sets - Michael Yeargan
- Lighting - Thomas J. Munn
Reception
As noted by Bernard Holland in his review in the New York Times of 21 September 1998,
A Streetcar Named Desire is so operatic as a play that one wonders why more than 50 years have passed since its Broadway opening with no opera of note being made of it. ….The new setting of Tennessee Williams's play, with music by Andre Previn and a libretto by Philip Littell, answered a few questions and asked others. …..First of all, it sings very well. Mr. Previn has a fine ear for voices. He knows how to flatter and coax it and send it gracefully from one musical episode to the next…..one had the impression that Mr. Previn had been writing for the musical theater all his life. [1]
Regarding the music, Holland notes:
There are angry clashes of harmony and key, many Straussian gestures, sweet-as-honey popular melody and the kinds of corporate noodling and mumbling among the strings native to a Ligeti or a Penderecki. Mr. Previn is not ashamed to incorporate Hollywood code words, especially the wailing thrusts of saxophone, trumpet and clarinet to introduce dissolution and lurid sex [2]
In his estimation of the main singers, Holland comments:
as beautifully as Renée Fleming sings and as assiduously as she pursues the part, she leaves a hole in the opera that nothing around it can fill. Ms. Fleming does everything an opera singer can do, but I am not sure that Blanche is a character that opera can ever reach. As Stanley in a baritone part, Rodney Gilfry sings strongly and summons the necessary physical menace. Elizabeth Futral made Stella a satisfying operatic character (and) Anthony Dean Griffey sang touchingly and surely in the tenor role of Mitch[3]
Other performances
The opera has since been performed in New Orleans (1999/2000), San Diego (2000), Washington, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas (2002). The European premiere took place at the Opéra national du Rhin, Strasbourg, France. Other performances were given in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Giessen, Germany, Turin, Italy, Tokyo, Japan and London, England[4]
London premiere
The opera had its London premiere in June, 2003 in a semi-staged version at the Barbican[5], with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Prévin, with much of the original cast reprising their roles and Janice Watson replacing Elizabeth Futral as Stella.
- Opera Ireland presented the opera in November 2006 in Dublin[6].
- Teater an der Wien, Vienna is to perform the opera in March 2007.[7]
- Opera Australia is to perform this work in its 2007 season at the Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House, under the musical direction of Richard Hickox with Yvonne Kenny as Blanche [8].
References
- Holland, Bernard, "Pursuing The Soul Of Streetcar In Opera", New York Times, Sept. 21st 1998
