''The Second Hurricane'' is an opera in two acts by

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

to 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 Edwin Denby. Specifically written for school performances, it lasts just under an hour and premiered on April 21, 1937, at the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...

playhouse in New York City. Set in the United States in the 1930s, the opera tells the story of a group of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students who become trapped on an island while working to rescue the victims of a hurricane.

Background and performance history

''The Second Hurricane'' was Copland's first attempt at composing opera and was commissioned by the

in New York City where it premiered on April 21, 1937, at the settlement's playhouse performed by students at its music school. The premiere production was designed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

and conducted by

Lehman Engel A. Lehman Engel (born September 14, 1910, Jackson, Mississippi - died August 29, 1982, New York City) was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film. Work in theatre, television and films Engel worked in a variety ...

. The young

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and ''Sabr ...

played the small speaking role of Mr. Maclenahan. The work was performed on

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

May 9, 1937, in a one-hour broadcast directed by Earle McGill. The work has only been sporadically performed since its premiere. During a weeklong celebration of Copland's 80th birthday in 1980, it was performed one night at Memphis State University with students from the Memphis Public Schools, directed by Robert Swift. In honor of Copland's 85th birthday, it was revived at the Henry Street Settlement in November 1985 in a production by

Tazewell Thompson Tazewell Thompson (born May 27, 1948), is an African-American theatre direction, theatre director, the former artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse (2006–07) in Westport, Connecticut, Westport, Connecticut and the Syracuse Stage (1 ...

which restored an aria and a ballet which had been cut from the work at its premiere. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, a new version was premiered at the 11th

Chicago Humanities Festival The Chicago Humanities Festival is a non-profit organization which hosts an annual series of lectures, concerts, and films in Chicago. There are two seasons each year, including a spring festival from April through May, and a longer fall festival ...

. For the Chicago production the producer and musical director Michael Barrett and Jamie Bernstein Thomas (the daughter of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

) wrote a new libretto updating the story from the 1930s to 2000 with the action taking place in a television studio where the protagonists describe their adventures for a cable-television show called ''Teen Heroes''.Von Rhein (12 November 2000) In 2014, the opera was revived in Columbia, South Carolina as a co-production between the University of South Carolina's Magellan scholar program, Opera at USC, FBN Productions, Inc., and Columbia Music Festival Association. The cast was composed of community students from across the Midlands region of South Carolina and was directed by University of South Carolina senior Kate McKinney.

Roles

Recording

*''In the Beginning / The Second Hurricane'' – New York High School of Music & Art soloists and chorus,

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

conducted by

. Label: Sony 60560

Notes and references

Sources

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 ...

Copland, Aaron, ''The Second Hurricane'' (1936)
Retrieved 11 January 2012. *Copland, Aaron and Kostelanetz Richard (ed.) (2004)
'' Aaron Copland: A Reader: Selected Writings 1923–1972''
Routledge. *Crist, Elizabeth Bergman (2009)
''Music for the Common Man: Aaron Copland During the Depression and War''
Oxford University Press. * France, Richard (1977). ''The Theatre of Orson Welles''. Bucknell University Press. *''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (8 April 1937
"Lead Roles Filled in Juvenile Opera, World Premiere of 'Second Hurricane' To Be Held Here on 21 April"
Retrieved 11 January 2012 . *''New York Times'' (22 April 1937)

Retrieved 13 January 2012. *Pollack, Howard (2000)
''Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man''
University of Illinois Press. *Rockwell, John (15 November 1985)

''

''. Retrieved 11 January 2012. *Von Rhein, John (12 November 2000)
"Aaron Copland's 'The Second Hurricane' at the Francis W. Parker School"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. Retrieved 11 January 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Second Hurrricane, The Operas by Aaron Copland English-language operas Operas 1937 operas Operas set in the United States