''Where's Dick?'' 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 composed by Stewart Wallace. The work uses an English language

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 ...

Michael Korie Michael Korie (born April 1, 1955) is an American Libretto, librettist and lyricist whose writing for musical theater and opera includes the musicals ''Grey Gardens (musical), Grey Gardens'' and ''Far from Heaven (musical), Far From Heaven'', and ...

. The opera is a satire on 1980s American life and tabloid journalism and follows the experiences of Junior ("an all-American boy") who in reaction to the crime and corruption he sees around him searches for the detective hero

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the '' Detroit Mirror'', and was distributed by the Chicago T ...

. It was first performed in a workshop format by Opera Omaha on 26 September 1987. The production was led by conductor Jeff Halpern and starred Consuela Hill as Chief Blowhard,

Lauren Flanigan Lauren Flanigan (born May 18, 1958) is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the 1980s. She enjoyed a particularly fruitful partnership with the New York City Opera, appearing with the company almost every ye ...

as Mrs. Heimilich, and

Henry Stram Henry Stram (born September 10, 1954) is an American actor and singer. He is the son of famous NFL coach Hank Stram. Early life Stram grew up in Kansas City, while his father was the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. He performed with The Barn ...

as Junior. The opera's first full-scale production and official premiere, with largely the same cast, was given at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston and was produced for

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

on 24 May 1989 by its touring arm, Texas Opera Theater. HGO music director

John DeMain John DeMain is an American conductor who serves as music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, as well as serving as artistic director of Madison Opera. He was music director and principal conductor of Houst ...

conducted a run of eight performances. ''Where's Dick'' was the first of Wallace's operas to be given a fully staged performance and the first collaboration between Wallace and his librettist, Michael korie.Swed (15 January 1995) They went on to create several more operas, including ''Kabbalah'' (1989), ''

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised i ...

'' (1995), and ''Hopper's Wife'' (1997).

References

Notes Sources * * Griffel, Margaret Ross and Fried, Adrienne (1999). "''Where's Dick''", in ''Operas in English: A Dictionary'', p. 650.

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...

. *Swed, Mark (15 January 1995)
"A Life Custom-Made for Opera"
''

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 ...

''. Retrieved 23 September 2012. *Ward, Charles (26 May 1989)
"''Where's Dick?'' loses track of its purpose"
''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. Retrieved 21 September 2012.

External links

Where's Dick? at www.stewartwallace.com
(audio samples and production photos)

at

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

(roles list and instrumentation) *Heymont, George (21 September 2010)
"Two Operas You'll ''Never'' See Performed at the Met!"
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' {{Authority control 1987 operas English-language operas Operas Operas by Stewart Wallace Operas set in the United States Operas set in the 20th century

References

Further reading

External links