''Giants in the Earth'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning

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 libr ...

in three acts and four scenes by composer

Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...

. The work uses an English libretto by Arnold Sundgaard (1909–2006) after Ole Edvart Rølvaag's 1924-5 novel of the same name. The idea for the opera was originally conceived by Sundgaard, and depicts a story of tragedy and romance among

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

settlers of

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

in 1873. Composed during 1949-1949, the work was premiered on March 28, 1951 at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's Brander Matthews Theatre by the Columbia Opera Workshop. The Pulitzer jury concluded: "In no opera by an American is there music of such freshness, beauty, and distinctive character. The music has a life of its own apart from its appositeness to the text... Subject, text, and music avoid the cliché and commonplace and combine for an impression of strength and sincerity."Clifton, Chalmers and Lockwood, Norman (April 9, 1951). "Report of the Pulitzer Prize Music Jury", p.1. New York. cited in Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Erika J. Fischer, eds. (2001). ''Musical Composition Awards 1943-1999: From Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to Gian-Carlo Menotti and Melinda Wagner'', p.xxi n.24. Walter de Gruyter. . Moore's compositional style is highly vocal and features a speech-like,

through-composed In music theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as t ...

, "lack of

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

repetition," with a, "fluidity and natural feel othe vocal lines." Contrastingly, the lack of character development and liveliness, the almost complete lack of attention grabbing motifs, the length, and the premiere performance have all been criticized.McBride (2011), p.39-40.

Olin Downes Edwin Olin Downes, better known as Olin Downes (January 27, 1886 – August 22, 1955), was an American music critic, known as "Sibelius's Apostle" for his championship of the music of Jean Sibelius. As critic of ''The New York Times'', he ex ...

The 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 ...

wrote that the opera was mostly, "recitative of little inherent significance." The premiere cast included soprano Brenda Miller Cooper as the central figure Beret, along with Josh Wheeler, Roy Johnson, Vivian Bauer, Sam Bertsche, Helen Dautrich, James Cosenza, Frances Paige, Raymond Sharp, and Edward Black. In 1963 Moore improved the orchestration and depiction of Beret at the request of

Carl Fischer Music Carl Fischer Music (founded in 1872) is a sheet music publisher based in New York City's East Village. The company has since moved to the Wall Street area in 2013. After 140 years, the company remains a family-owned business, publishing both perf ...

. The runners up for the Pulitzer that year were

Quincy Porter William Quincy Porter (February 7, 1897 – November 12, 1966) was an American composer and teacher of classical music. Biography Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included Horatio Parker and David St ...

's ''String Quartet No. 8'',

Peter Mennin Peter Mennin (born Mennini) (May 17, 1923 in Erie, Pennsylvania – June 17, 1983 in New York City) was a prominent American composer, teacher and administrator. In 1958, he was named Director of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and i ...

's ''Symphony No. 5'', and David Diamond's ''Symphony No. 3''. Despite its acclaim, in the decades since first being written Giants in the Earth has scarcely been preformed live and no recordings of the opera are accessible to the public. In 2023 following a major donation, the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra announced plans to revive the opera with recordings to be made public via

South Dakota Public Broadcasting South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) is a state network of non-commercial educational television and radio stations serving the U.S. state of South Dakota. The stations are operated by the South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunicatio ...

Roles

Synopsis

Act 1

''The crest of a low hill, early morning in Spring.''

Act 2

''Interior of the sod hut of Per Hansa, a June afternoon. ''

Act 3

''Scene 1, Outside the hut. A Sunday morning in September. Scene 2, Interior of the hut. Late at night in February.''

References

External links

*
Moore's Opera Makes World Debut Tonight
, ''Spectator Archive''. {{Authority control 1951 operas English-language operas Operas based on novels Operas Operas by Douglas Moore Operas set in the United States Pulitzer Prize for Music-winning works