''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' 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 two acts by

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

to a

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 the composer and lyricist, based on the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Mark McShane and the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2 ...

to the 1964 film of the same name. The work, Schwartz's first opera after a string of Broadway musicals (''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...

'', '' Pippin'', '' Wicked''), premiered on 26 September 2009 at the Granada Theatre of Opera Santa Barbara which commissioned the work. The work lasts for about 2 hours 50 minutes.

Performances

The work received its New York debut at 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 its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

in April 2011, this time with an additional aria for the character of Myra in act 2. It was scheduled for an Australian premiere in 2012 at Opera Queensland; both companies were co-producers of the Santa Barbara staging. That project was however shelved in late 2011., ''Opera Insider'' (1 October 2011)

Roles

Synopsis

References

External links

"''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' – Stephen Schwartz's First Opera"
review by Bob Verini, '' Variety'' (26 September 2009)
"Opera review: ''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' at Opera Santa Barbara"
by Josef Woodard, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' (27 September 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Seance on a Wet Afternoon Operas 2009 operas English-language operas Operas based on films Operas based on novels Operas set in the United States Musicals by Stephen Schwartz