''An American Tragedy'' is an opera in two acts composed by

Tobias Picker Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, artistic director, and pianist, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas'', as well as his operas ''Emmeline'', ''Fantastic Mr. ...

, with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") 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 the t ...

by Gene Scheer. This was Picker's fourth opera, written four years after the debut of ''

Thérèse Raquin ''Thérèse Raquin'' is an 1868 novel by French writer Émile Zola, first published in serial form in the literary magazine ''L'Artiste'' in 1867. It was Zola's third novel, though the first to earn wide fame. The novel's adultery and murder ...

'' (also composed with Scheer). Based on the 1925

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

novel, ''

An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906 and the trial of ...

'', the opera was commissioned by the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, and premiered in New York City on December 2, 2005. It received its West Coast premiere by the Santa Monica College Opera Theater in 2010, and was produced at the

Glimmerglass Festival The Glimmerglass Festival (formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera) is an American opera company. Founded in 1975 by Peter Macris, the Glimmerglass Festival presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight ...

in 2014.

Roles

Synopsis

This has been described as a progressive drama of temptation, responsibility, and faith. Clyde Griffiths, son of a Midwestern missionary, is a young man working as a bellhop in Chicago, where he flirts with young society women. He relocates to New York upon being offered a position in his Uncle Samuel's shirt factory. Wasting no time, he pursues one of the young workers there, Roberta Alden, after being warned not to by fellow workers. Clyde quickly moves on to a new love interest in Sondra Finchley. Before long, Clyde is juggling Roberta and Sondra, but Roberta soon confides that she is pregnant. Clyde believes his true love is Sondra, and feels resentful of Roberta, who hopes to marry him. Clyde schemes to rid himself of the burden of an unwanted lover with a child on the way.

Note from the composer

"Based on a true story, Theodore Dreiser's novel ''An American Tragedy'' is one literature's great, universal subjects. The central character Clyde Griffiths is Everyman, and his dilemma is at the heart of the American experience, then as well as now. The people upon whom Dreiser's characters were based also echo throughout the pages of the entire opera. They are the haunting spirits that made the story and the writing of the music 'real' for me. The heart-breaking hand-written letters of Grace Brown, the tragic real life factory worker Dreiser brings us so painfully close to, inspired me to give them song as they are projected onto the stage in all their endless optimism and sorrow."

References

External links

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...

''An American Tragedy''

Excerpt with Patricia Racette on Youtube

Photos from the opera

''An American Tragedy'' on Tobias Picker's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Tragedy, An Operas by Tobias Picker English-language operas 2005 operas Operas set in the United States Operas Opera world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera Operas based on novels Operas set in the 20th century Works based on An American Tragedy