''The Summer King'' is a 2017

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 two acts by American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Daniel Sonenberg Daniel Sonenberg (born 1970) is an American composer and performer. Sonenberg was born in Manhattan, New York in 1970, and moved to Maine in 2004. As a composer, he is best known for his opera '' The Summer King''. His work ''Baseball Songs'' won ...

, 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 poet

Daniel Nester Daniel Murlin Nester (born February 29, 1968, in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American writer, editor, and poet. Biography Nester was raised in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey. He attended high school at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hi ...

and Sonenberg, and additional lyrics by Mark Campbell.

Margaret Ross Griffel Margaret Ross Griffel (born 9 July 1943) is an American musicologist and author. Biography Griffel graduated from High School of Music & Art, in Manhattan, New York in 1961. She earned a B.A. from Barnard College in 1965, M.A. in European and Am ...

br>Operas in English: A Dictionary (online entry)
/ref> Its story follows the life of baseball legend

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...

, from his early days on Pittsburgh's North Side to the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

, and finally achieving immortality as the second Negro league player to be inducted in the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. ''The Summer King'' had its world premiere at

Pittsburgh Opera Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts Sch ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

on April 29, 2017.

Background and inception

Composer Sonenberg was so taken with the subject of Negro league baseball great Josh Gibson, that he devoted thirteen years of his life to writing an opera about the legend. Said to be a "hulking catcher," Gibson's remarkable skills at bat gained him the nickname: "The Black Babe Ruth". Along with

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

, Gibson was integral in the dismantling of segregated baseball, but never got the chance to play in the Major Leagues. Gibson died at the age of 35 on January 20, 1947. ''The Summer King'' was first commissioned by "Portland Ovations" at

Merrill Auditorium Merrill Auditorium is a 1,908-seat auditorium located in Portland, Maine, United States. Originally known as Portland City Hall Auditorium, it is located in the eastern section of Portland City Hall. The auditorium was built in 1912 and underwen ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. With financial support from such foundations as

American Opera Projects The American Opera Project (AOP) is a professional opera company based in Brooklyn, New York City, and is a member of Opera America, the Fort Greene Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A. ...

, the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, and

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

, it was scheduled to close out the 2013-2014 season. In addition, it was chosen to be included in Opera America's New Works Forum. On January 15, 2014 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Opera America's New Works Forum staged selected readings from the opera.

Synopsis

''The Summer King'' focuses on certain aspects of Gibson's life. The first being his key involvement in the Negro leagues of America. Next to Jackie Robinson (who broke the color barrier three months before Gibson died), Gibson is seen as a pioneer in this leap between segregation to integration in baseball; although he never set out to achieve such a goal. As composer Sonenberg states in an interview, "

ibson Ibson Barreto da Silva (born 7 November 1983), simply known as Ibson, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Nacional de Muriaé. Club career Flamengo Born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Ibson arrived at Clube de R ...

wasn't passionate about breaking the color barrier. He wasn't political. He was a ballplayer, and he loved the game." Second, his unrivaled talents on the playing field. Gibson not only hit more home runs than Babe Ruth, but he was a remarkable catcher, and is even said to have knocked a ball out of Yankee Stadium. His untimely death at 35 in 1947 from a brain tumor, coupled with a tragic life — he never fully recovered after his wife died giving birth to twins and was a victim of alcoholism and drug abuse —, supplies the third element of the opera.

Performance history

The first performances of ''The Summer King'' were presented as "concert excerpts" from the opera. "American Opera Projects of New York" presented selections on April 29, 2005 with

Steven Osgood Steven Osgood is an American classical music conductor. He is known for his commitment to new operatic works, having conducted many world premieres including Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's ''Breaking the Waves'', David T. Little and Royce Vavre ...

, conductor. On August 27, 2007, a stage reading of 2 scenes from Act 1 was given with Elizabeth Scott, conductor. On May 8, 2014, a "concert version" of the opera was performed with Steven Osgood as Music Director at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine. The performing company consisted of a contracted lead ensemble, the Boy Singers of Maine, Vox Nova Chamber Singers and a 16 member orchestra, with Stephen Salters as Gibson, Candice Hoyes as his wife, and Lori-Kaye Miller, Gibson's girlfriend Grace. National Opera companies were in attendance, including the Pittsburgh Opera; which invited Sonenberg to premiere the opera on its following season program. Sean Gibson, Gibsons's great-grandson, was a guest attendee at the performance. In anticipation of the performance, a panel discussion entitled "The Summer King in Winter - A Panel Discussion on Integration and the Demise of the Negro Baseball Leagues" with the composer leading a talk on the characters from the opera took place. Bass Kenneth Kellogg sang a selection from the opera. Kellogg later went on to star as Gibson's friend Sam in the Pittsburgh premiere. The world premiere took place at Pittsburgh Opera on Saturday, April 29, 2017 with

Antony Walker General Sir Antony Kenneth Frederick Walker, (born 16 May 1934) is a former British Army officer who served as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 1990 to 1992. Military career Educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Walke ...

, conductor and Sam Helfrich, director. Alfred Walker played Gibson, Jacqueline Echols his wife Helen, and

Denyce Graves Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. Early life Graves was born on March 7, 1964, in Washington, D.C., to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and w ...

, Grace. It was noted that players from the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

made special cameo appearances on stage, as did Gibson's great-grandson. ''The Summer King'' is slated for production in May 2018 with

Michigan Opera Theatre Detroit Opera is the principal opera company in Michigan, USA. The company is based in Detroit, where it performs in the Detroit Opera House. Prior to February 28, 2022, the company was named the Michigan Opera Theatre. Each year it presents an ope ...

Reception

Although the initial reviews for early performances seemed tentative and even critical at times, the over-all reception toward the 2014 "''in concert''" performance and the 2017 world premiere were well received. ''

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States. Founded in 1862, its roots e ...

'' reporter, Bob Keyes, who followed the story from its initial start to the premiere, reported that (after a falling out with librettist Daniel Nester) Sonenberg took to task of re-writing the libretto himself following the 2014 performance and its critiques of character development. Teaming up with lyricist Mark Campbell, the two created a new aria for Gibson. Keyes later reported that at the Pittsburgh premiere, the curtain call lasted for "several minutes" and the composer took several bows. The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' pointed out certain flaws within the opera's libretto and cavalcade of characters, stating, while the "multitude of characters is confusing ... the action progresses in swift cinematic fragments, some segments go on too long, and the scenes after the protagonist dies seem superfluous and anticlimactic. However, its praise struck a home-run in the Opera Company's staged production and the composer's score: "Mr. Sonenberg is well suited to this eclectic mix" of musical genre ranging from "classical and jazz styles, ragtime, mariachi and big band swing."

References

External links

The Summer KingNew Works Forum: Daniel SonenbergThe Summer King in Winter (excerpt)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summer King (opera), The 2017 operas Operas Operas set in the 20th century Operas based on real people Cultural depictions of American people Cultural depictions of baseball players Songs about baseball players Baseball music Operas set in the United States English-language operas Black people in art