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Rappaccini's Daughter (Garwood Opera)
''Rappaccini's Daughter'' is an English-language American opera in two acts and six scenes first presented in 1980. The composer and librettist was Margaret Garwood, who based it on Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1844 short story of the same name. The Pennsylvania Opera Theater gave the world premiere in a concert version at the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts's Theatre 313 on November 19, 1980. The same company presented the first staged version at Philadelphia's Trocadero Theatre on May 6, 1983. Both versions received favorable reviews. Hawthorne's Gothic story about a doctor whose work with poisons has made his daughter's touch deadly has inspired several operas including '' The Garden of Mystery'' (Charles Wakefield Cadman, 1925); '' The Poisoned Kiss, or The Empress and the Necromancer'' (Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1936); and '' La hija de Rappaccini'' (Daniel Catán, 1991). Synopsis The opera is set in Padua at the turn of the 19th Century. Giovanni, new to Padua, ren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Garwood
Margaret Garwood (March 22, 1927, Haddonfield, New Jersey, Haddonfield, New Jersey – May 3, 2015, Philadelphia) was an American composer who is best known for her operas. She turned into composition relatively late in her life, at age 35. She stated that through composition, she had "found her fulfilment" in life. About her late start in composition, she stated that before she was 35, she "...was totally absorbed in becoming a concert pianist at that time, and taught and coached singers, accompanied, played chamber music, played in cocktail lounges, worked with an opera company." Garwood became best known for her operatic adaptation of literary works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, including ''The Scarlet Letter'' and "Rappaccini's Daughter". She also composed works for instrumental Chamber music, chamber ensembles, orchestras, and other vocal ensembles. Many of her works were commissioned by the Pennsylvania Opera Theater. Garwood received a master's degree in Composition from the Unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |