''Miss Havisham's Fire'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in 2 acts by composer

Dominick Argento Dominick Argento (October 27, 1927 – February 20, 2019) was an American composer known for his lyric operatic and choral music. Among his best known pieces are the operas '' Postcard from Morocco'', '' Miss Havisham's Fire'', ''The Masque of An ...

with an English language

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 John Olon-Scrymgeour. The work is loosely based on

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' 1861 novel ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'', and centers on an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Aurelia Havisham. Commissioned by 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 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

, the work premiered on March 22, 1979, at the

David H. Koch Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

at the

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in Manhattan. ''Miss Havisham's Fire'' was initially intended to be a farewell vehicle for soprano

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned for ...

, but she pulled out of the project due to illness and was replaced by

Rita Shane Rita Shane (August 15, 1936 – October 9, 2014) was an American coloratura soprano. Biography Born in the Bronx to Julius J. Shane and Rebekah (née Milner) Shane, Rita Shane studied at Barnard College and privately with voice teachers Beverly P ...

. The opera received negative to mixed reviews in the press at its premiere and was not mounted again for more than 20 years. Argento revised it into a one-act

monodrama A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character. In opera In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ''Pygmalion'', which wa ...

entitled ''Miss Havisham's Wedding Night'' which

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

premiered on May 1, 1981, at the

Tyrone Guthrie Theater Tyrone may refer to: * Kingdom of Tyrone or Tír Eoghain, a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland * County Tyrone, a county in Northern Ireland * Earl of Tyrone, a title in the Peerage of Ireland * Tyrone (name), a male given name Places Canada * Tyrone, On ...

in Minneapolis, conducted by

Philip Brunelle Philip Brunelle (born July 1, 1943) is an American choral scholar, conductor and organist. He is the founder of VocalEssence. In the course of an international career as a choral and opera conductor Brunelle has been awarded Commander of the Roy ...

. It was performed under the baton of Gil Rose at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

on November 9, 2017, in a concert by New York City Opera celebrating the composer's 90th birthday. In 2001 the

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by th ...

revived the work in a new version by Argento that shortened the opera by more than an hour and made improvements to the work's dramatic structure. This production received a much more positive response from the press.

Roles

References

External links

''Miss Havisham's Fire'', (1979, rev. 1996)

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

{{Portal bar, Opera Operas by Dominick Argento 1979 operas English-language operas Operas Operas based on novels Opera world premieres at New York City Opera Works based on Great Expectations