A Streetcar Named Desire

by

André Previn

Featuring

Proudly

Presents

Blanche DuBois . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soprano

Stanley Kowalski . . . . . . . . Baritone

Stella Kowalski . . . . . . . . . . Soprano

Harold Mitchell “Mitch” . . . . . . . . . . Tenor

Eunice Hubbell . . . . . . . . . Mezzo-soprano

Steve Hubbell . . . . . . . . . . . Tenor

A Flower Woman . . . . . . Mezzo-soprano

A Young Collector . . . . . . . . Tenor

A Streetcar Named Desire

So many of Tennessee

Williams’ plays are

about the language and

the stories are often very

operatic in nature so it

seems to reason that

one or more would

eventually be made into

operas.

In 1994, Lofti Mansouri

(at the time, the General

Director for San Fran-

cisco Opera) ap-

proached composer An-

dré Previn about creat-

ing an opera based on A

STREETCAR NAMED

DESIRE. While it would

be Previn’s first opera,

he had been composing

dramatic scores for

years for Hollywood

and Broadway.

As he typically wrote for

specific performers, he

asked Renée Fleming to

premiere the role of

Blanche. She agreed

wholeheartedly. The

opera premiered on

September 19, 1998 in

San Francisco.

Synopsis

By André Previn

Libretto by Philip Littell after the play by Tennessee Williams

TIME: 1940s

PLACE: At the home of Stanley and Stella Kowalski at Elysian Fields,

New Orleans

Blanche DuBois arrives in New Orleans from her hometown of Laurel

to visit her sister, Stella (They told me to take a streetcar named Desire).

Stella is now married to Stanley Kowalski (an ex-GI in the Army Corps

of Engineers). As Stella is not home, her neighbor Eunice lets Blanche

into the messy apartment. Blanche asks to be left alone and helps her-

self to a drink. Stella returns and the reunited sisters hug. Unable to

help herself, Blanche asks Stella why she lives in these conditions.

Blanche also starts to reveal why she left her teaching job but is distracted

by Stella’s lack of response to her unexpected appearance. She also asks

if Stella has told Stanley about her arrival. Stella talks about her distress

when Stanley is away (I can hardly stand it). Blanche becomes impatient

and snaps at Stella for abandoning their ancestral home of Belle Reve as

well as leaving Blanche to deal with the many deaths in the family (You

left! I stayed and I struggled!). Blanche reveals that she had no money

to keep Belle Reve. Stella cries and goes into the bathroom to freshen

up.

Stanley returns home. He is surprised to see Blanche, grabs a drink and

takes off his shirt. Stanley questions Blanche and finds out she was mar-

ried once when she was younger but her husband died.

- A few days later

Stella is getting ready to take Blanche out to dinner and a show as it is

Stanley’s poker night. Stanley is put out at having only cold cuts for din-

ner. Stella tells him that he needs to be nice to Blanche after all she’s

been through with losing Belle Reve. Stella also tells him not to mention

her pregnancy. Stanley presses Stella on where Blanche got her money

to buy fancy clothes, certainly not with a teacher’s salary. He reminds

Stella that what is hers is also his and that they’ve been swindled out of

their rightful property.

Blanche comes out of the bathroom and asks Stanley to leave while she

gets dressed. She asks him to button up the back of her dress and com-

ments that her trunk looks like it exploded. Stanley questions her about

it and she says the fancy clothes came from an admirer. Stanley presses

her on the papers from the home. Blanche says everything she owns is 2

in the trunk including the papers. She gets all her papers out of the trunk and Stanley tries to grab them but Blanche tells him not to touch the love letters and poems (There are thousands of papers). She tells Stanley that generations of the men in her family sold off bits of Belle Reve – piece by piece until nothing was left but the house and the graveyard. She and Stella were left with the mortgages so it’s all gone. Stanley justifies his actions (A man has to take an interest in his wife’s affairs) and reveals Stella’s pregnancy. Blanche and Stella leave just as Stanley’s friends show up for the poker game.

– That night Stanley’s friend Mitch (Harold Mitchell) says he needs to get home to his sick mother but Stanley ridicules him. As the poker game continues, Blanche and Stella return. A drunken Stanley is quite rude to the wom-en. Blanche is introduced to Mitch and is clearly interested in him. She flirts, turns on the radio and starts to dance. In a rage, Stanley rips the plug to the radio out of the wall. Stella tries to stop him from throwing the radio out the front door and Stanley hits her. His poker buddies throw him into the shower to cool off while Blanche takes Stella upstairs to Eunice. Stanley cries out for Stella, who returns to him.

The next morning, Blanche tries to convince Stella that Stanley is an animal (Suppose! You can’t have for-gotten). Stanley has returned with breakfast and listens to Blanche’s tirade. Unaware that Stanley has re-turned, Blanche continues her argument. Stella ignores her and goes into Stanley’s arms.

- Some weeks later

Blanche is writing a letter at the kitchen table while Stanley is baiting her about her past. One of his friends has told him about Blanche at the Flamingo Hotel in Laurel, a place with a shady reputation. Blanche de-nies that she has ever been there. Blanche presses Stella to tell her if people are gossiping about her. Stella pours her a Coke with liquor and Blanche promises her that she won’t be staying too much longer. Blanche has a date with Mitch and she hopes this relationship will help her leave her current situation. Stanley and Stella head out for their date. Blanche is concerned about her fading beauty (Soft people have got to shim-mer and glow).

A paperboy arrives to collect for the newspaper. Blanche flirts with him and kisses him before sending him away. Mitch finally shows up for their date.

– Later that night Mitch and Blanche return from their date and Mitch asks if he can kiss her. Blanche wonders why he always asks. Mitch confides that he’s never met anyone like her. Blanche tells Mitch that he is one of the true gen-tlemen left in the world. Mitch asks about her age; he has told his mother about her (I’m not a boy). Mitch tells her that when you lose your one true love, you still believe in love, no matter who you are or what you’ve been through.

Blanche begins to talk about her marriage when she was sixteen (He was a boy). They were both young and confused. She was instantly love-struck; he was tender but was asking for help she could not give. She didn’t understand until she discovered him with another man. They pretended nothing had happened but later, when they had gone dancing, she told him she knew and he disgusted her. He ran out to the lake and killed himself.

Mitch tells her that they both need someone and could this relationship work. She continues in her reverie that ever since that moment, there has never been another light like the first.

– Four months later

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Stella is decorating for Blanche’s birthday party. Stanley reveals that he has the dirt on Blanche’s past in Lau-rel. After she lost Belle Reve, Blanche stayed at the Flamingo and had quite a reputation for being loose. In fact, the mayor kicked her out of town. And she didn’t lose her teaching job to nerves; it was for having a re-lationship with a seventeen year old boy. Stella doesn’t want to believe any of it. Stanley told Mitch all about Blanche’s past. Stanley has also purchased a one-way ticket back to Laurel that he presents to Blanche. She tries to call Mitch but must leave a message. Stanley assures Stella that things will be all right again (Stell, it’s going to be all right).

Stanley reminds Stella that she liked him being common and that they were happy before Blanche arrived. Stella asks him to take her to the hospital.

- Later that night Blanche sits in the apartment alone, in the dark with a drink. A drunken Mitch shows up and insists he see Blanche in the full light. He begins turning on all the lights in the apartment but Blanche wonders why (Real! Who wants real? I want magic!). She implores Mitch not turn on the light but he does anyway and drags her into the glare. Mitch accuses her of lying to him. A Mexican woman selling flowers for the dead triggers Blanche into remembering Saturday nights at Belle Reve when she would answer the calls of drunken sailors. Mitch and Blanche briefly embrace and she asks him to marry her but he tells her that she’s not fit to be in the same house as his mother. Blanche throws him out and she slowly becomes unhinged as she continues to drink and slip into an alternate reality.

- Later Stanley returns from the hospital. He has had a few drinks. He turns on the light and Blanche asks after Stella. Stanley notices that Blanche is dressed in a tawdry gown and tiara (Take a look at yourself). Blanche becomes panicked and tries to phone for help while Stanley is in the bathroom. He comes out and stands between her and the outside door. She runs into the bedroom and closes the curtain but Stanley continues his pursuit. Stanley rapes her.

- Some days later The men are playing poker again, Stella is packing some of Blanche’s things and Eunice arrives with some grapes. Eunice tells Stella that her baby is sleeping but to leave him upstairs until things are settled. Stella tells Eunice that Blanche is taking a bath again and wonders if she’s doing the right thing. As Blanche calls out for flowers, Stella tells Eunice she could not believe what Blanche told her about Stanley. Blanche enters and wonders what is going on as they all stare at her. Blanche asks Stella and Eunice to help her dress. She doesn’t want to walk by the men but in a moment, she is already mentally elsewhere (I can smell the sea air). A doctor and nurse arrive to take Blanche to the asylum. Blanche is afraid and tries to evade them. Stella is restrained by Eunice from helping Blanche. Mitch lunges at Stanley, realizing he is to blame for Blanche’s mental state. Blanche is helped to her feet by the doctor and leaves with him (I have always depended on the kindness of strangers).

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A Streetcar Named Desire

Biography of the Composer

André Previn (Andreas Ludwig Prewin) was born in Berlin, Germany in 1929. When André was 10, his family had to leave Nazi Germany and they settled in Los Angeles. André’s uncle, Charles Previn, was the music director at Universal Studios. André was a gifted pianist and after graduating from Beverly Hills High School, he began arranging and composing film scores. In the early 1950s, he had the opportunity to study with renowned conductor and impresario, Pierre Monteux. In the latter half of the 1950s, André primarily toured and recorded as a jazz pianist. His reputation as a composer and arranger for Hollywood really started to pay off with his work on several major films including ELMER GANTRY (1960), LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (1962), MY FAIR LADY (1964—he won the Oscar for musical adaptation), PAINT YOUR WAGON (1969) and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (1973) to name a few.

He continued to perform as a pianist throughout the 1960s with Julie Andrews, Doris Day, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Dinah Shore. In 1967, he became the music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the following year began his tenure as the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (a position he would hold until 1979). Following the LSO, André was also music director and/or principal conductor for next several years with several orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

André has been married five times and has 10 children (biological and adopted). He has received multiple awards including 4 Academy Awards, multiple Grammy awards and was a 1998 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

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Author, Author!

Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams III was born in Co-lumbus, Mississippi on March 26, 1911. His father was a hard drink-ing traveling shoe salesman and his mother was the stereotypical Southern belle prone to hysterics and a bit of snobbery. Tennessee had an older sister Rose who was diagnosed as schizophrenic as a young woman. The family moved to St. Louis when Tennessee was 8 when his father was promoted. Tennessee loved to write and pub-lished a couple of essays while in high school. He attended several universities before finally graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in English. He continued writing and branched out into playwriting. Tennessee struggled through the 1930s but with support from the Rockefeller Foundation as well as the WPA (Works Pro-gress Administration), he managed to have some plays produced, enough to get noticed by MGM. During some of this time, he lived in New Orleans, a setting he would utilize in A STREETCAR NAMED

DESIRE. In 1943, his sister Rose had a botched lobotomy and remained institutionalized for the re-mainder of her life. When he was financially able, Tennessee moved Rose to a private facility and made sure she had the best of care (also gave her several rights to his plays) but was still terrified he would end up like her and lose his sanity. She was very likely the inspiration for the character of Laura in THE GLASS MENAGERIE.

In 1944, Tennessee’s “memory play” THE GLASS MENAGERIE opened in Chicago to good re-views and eventually went on to Broadway. The idea of the memory play was created by Tennessee. In the opening lines of THE GLASS MENAGERIE, the character of Tom states: “The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen to music. That explains the fiddle in the wings. I am the narrator of the play, and also a char-acter in it. The other characters are my mother Amanda, my sister Laura and a gentleman caller who appears in the final scenes.” Perhaps the most autobiographical of Tennessee’s work, it also launched him into the wider world winning the New York Drama Critics’ play of the year award. But it would be A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE that made his a household name.

Written in 1947, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1948 and would be adapted from the Broadway stage to Hollywood. The movie, with three of the four original Broadway actors, would win four Academy Awards and cement one of its stars as a legendary leading man; Marlon Brando. In 1998, the play would be adapted into the opera by composer André Previn and librettist Phillip Littell. The role of Blanche would feature one of opera’s greatest artists, Renée Fleming.

From 1948 to 1959, Tennessee had seven of his plays produced on Broadway including SUM-

MER AND SMOKE (1948—adapted into an opera by Lee Hoiby in 1971), CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

(1955), ORPHEUS DESCENDING (1957) and SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH (1959). His play The Night of the Iguana (1961) also had some success on Broadway as well as the subsequent movie. But the re-mainder of the 1960s and 1970s were bleak. His personal life was in shambles as his long time partner Frank Merlo died 1963. This sent Tennessee into a deep depression. Throughout much of his life, Tennessee struggled with alcohol and drug abuse and this latest blow did not help. He was never able to repeat his earlier successes and spent time in and out of treatment facilities. Tennessee died on Feb-ruary 25, 1983 at the Elysee Hotel in New York very likely due to an overdose. Tennessee left his liter-ary rights to the University of the South in honor of his grandfather and when Rose died in 1996, she also left $7 million (her part of the Williams estate) to the university. Tennessee Williams is consid-ered to be one of the greatest American playwrights.

Where in the World?

New Orleans is the setting for A STREETCAR NAMED

DESIRE so let’s look at the city’s history and unique culture. New Orleans sits on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain and was developed as silt deposits from the Mississippi River began cre-ating a delta as early as 2200 BC. Native Americans who lived in this area were part of the or mound builders. Those in what became the New Orleans area were known as the and one of the parishes (or neigh-borhoods) in the city is named after them. Trade became an important role in developing this area further first with the Native Ameri-cans, then with French ex-plorers of the late 17th cen-tury.

The city of New Orleans was officially founded in 1718 by the French and call Nouvelle-Orléans. The site of the city was determined based on the fact that at the time, it was relatively higher than the sur-rounding flood prone areas of the Mississippi and its proximity to the trading routes between the Mississippi River and Lake Ponchartrain via the Bayou St. John. Eventually the city replaced Biloxi as the capital of French Louisiana but by 1763, the city was ceded to the Spanish as part of their compensation for losing Florida to the British in the Seven Years War. Spain claimed territory west of the Mississippi and the British claimed the east. New Orleans would experience two large fires near the end of the 18th century, the first in 1788 and the second in 1794. The original wooden buildings were rebuilt with brick and much of the current architecture of the French Quarter is from this period including the . Trade continued to grow bringing more peo-ple into the area from around the world. Life was not easy—the population suffered from a number of epi-demics including yellow fever and malaria (both mosquito carried diseases) as well as smallpox.

In 1803, New Orleans became one of the largest land transactions in history when Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United Stated (via Thomas Jefferson) as part of the . The city’s population included American settlers, Africans, French and Creoles (many of them escaped the revo-lution in Haiti to settle in New Orleans). There were also a large population of slaves many of whom partici-pated in the 1811 uprising (one of the largest slave uprisings in US history). The city came under attack by the British during the War of 1812, but and his “ ” held them off in the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. The population continued to grow exponentially after the war and was becom-ing an increasingly important commercial center for the United States. This was evident in the Civil War, when early on the Union captured the city with little effort—this also spared the city from the destruction faced by other southern cities. While the war didn’t destroy the city, there have been numerous floods and storms over the course of its history that have had devastating and long lasting results.

After the Civil War, Louisiana was re-admitted to the United States (1868) and the city of New Orle-ans was again the capital until 1882 when the seat of government was moved back to (where it remains to this day). The city had its ups and downs throughout the last half of the 19th century with upris-ings, class struggles and equality as well as more flooding but also hosted a World’s Fair in 1884. While the World’s Fair was not successful, it did draw tourists to the area and tourism continues to be one of the chief economies of New Orleans.

Because much of the city is below sea level and below Lake Pontchartrain, the city is protected by a series of . Many of these were built along old pathways of river banks leading to the look of the city as

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a “crescent” - hence the nickname “the Crescent City”. A series of pumps were put in place to try to help

drain the lower lying parts of the city but the old back swamp areas outside the levees continued to sink and

many of the older neighborhoods within the city did as well. This became abundantly clear during Hurri-

cane Katrina in 2005 when the levees failed, flooding much of the city and the pumps were overwhelmed by

the amount of water.

The 20th century saw continued growth in population and industry along with the usual plagues of

the area– although there was a growing suburban population outside the city as well. Tourism continued as a

driving force in the economy with places like Bourbon Street and the French Quarter becoming destinations,

in particular during Mardi Gras.

The music and culture of New Orleans have been integral in lending to

the flavor of the city as well as tourism. The mix of cultures led to various styles

of music including Dixieland, jazz and zydeco (a mix of Cajun and blues). Jazz

became synonymous with New Orleans and some of the most influential jazz

musicians hailed from the city including Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong

and the Marsalis family (brothers Wynton and Branford are the most well

known).

Food also became a draw for many with the blend of Creole and

French styles dominating the flavors of New Orleans. The city is particular

known for their doughnuts or beignets (pronounced "ben-yays”) usually served

with café au lait (a blend of coffee and chicory with milk or cream). Other New Orleans specialties include

sandwiches called po’ boys (subs served on baguettes), Gulf oysters, as well as lots of seafood based dishes

including Creole standards jambalaya, étouffée, gumbo and red beans and rice. For dessert, the praline is a

New Orleans staple (candy with brown sugar and pecans).

Mardis Gras or “Fat Tuesday” is the day before the start of Lent so revel-

ers pack the streets of New Orleans for one of the biggest celebrations in the city.

The colors of Mardis Gras are purple, yellow and green and tradition is to throw

strings of beads at the crowds from the parade floats.

Streetcars have been an important part of the city’s transportation since

the 19th century with four main lines still in operation today. The oldest is the St.

Charles Avenue line. The Desire Street line (where the play/opera got its title) ran from 1920-1948 through

the French Quarter but was eventually replaced with buses.

Architecture plays a large role in the look of the city with Bour-

bon Street in the French Quarter being one of the most famous. The

French Quarter is the oldest neighborhood in the city dating back to

the founding in 1718. St. Charles Avenue had a large collection of

mansions and the shotgun house style was common in less wealthy

neighborhoods.

The city is home to several well known universities including

Tulane and Loyola as well as the University of New Orleans. The

Fleur-de-lis is symbol of New Orleans and its football team, the Saints.

The city has also been the back-

drop of many novels, movies

and plays including GONE WITH THE WIND, Anne Rice’s Vampire

novels, MANON LESCAUT (two operas were influenced by the 1731

novel), and Disney’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG.

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Louis Armstrong

9

A JOURNEY INTO THE MUSIC OF YOUR LIFE

A journal (or diary) is a very useful tool which many ar�sts use to keep track of their 

crea�ve thoughts, ideas, inspira�ons, dreams and day-to-day reflec�ons.  As part of your process in learning about opera, begin crea�ng a journal specifically rela�ng to 

your thoughts and ideas.  Below are some ideas to consider and perhaps discuss in class.  

Prelude

Name some places where you o�en find yourself singing.  Why do you sing there?  Are 

you singing alone or with other people?  How do the people around you react to your 

singing?

Now, explore other types of music that you hear around you everyday.  Shut your eyes 

for a minute or two and listen.  What do you hear?  

Try this.  Turn on the television in your home, take some paper and a pen/pencil with 

you and sit in a completely different room so that you can hear, but not see the 

television.  See if you can tell just by the music what show is coming on.  Is it a drama?  

Science fic�on?  Mystery?  Comedy?  How can you tell?  What sounds/instruments does 

the composer use to help iden�fy the music with any characters in the program?

Exposi�on

Since many operas are created from books, what are the differences between an opera 

and a book?  What book do you think would create an interes�ng opera?  Why?  What 

would you have to do to transform a book into an opera?  

Development

Operas are also based on original stories.  Where do you think you could find ideas for a 

new opera?  Has anything ever happened to you that you think would make a good 

opera?  Are there people in your life that would make good characters in an opera?  

What quali�es do they have that make them funny?  sad?  angry?

Recap

Now that you've thought about all the ideas raised above, it's �me to put them all 

together.  Go back through your journal and read your ideas.  Does anything strike you 

as being a good idea for an opera?  Start collec�ng images, colors, textures that inspire 

you, much as it would a set or costume designer.  Create a collage of images using old 

magazines, newspapers, fabrics, old photographs, leaves, etc. that tells the story of your 

opera.

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TO FILL IN THE BLANK, OR NOT TO FILL IN THE BLANK . . .

Using the list below, fill in the blanks with the correct words.

Duet Soprano Blanche DuBois Wolfgang Mozart Belle Reve

Composer Opera Mezzo-Soprano New Orleans Tennessee Williams

Aria Conductor Libre�st Stanley Kowalski André Previn

Mother Lyrics Dynamics Overture Marcello

1) The degree of loudness or so�ness in the music is called _______________________.

2) An ____________  is a staged music work in which all of the parts are sung.

3) In A Streetcar Named Desire, which character shows up on a streetcar? __________________ .

4) The person who writes the words of an opera is called the ___________________.

5) A Streetcar Named Desire is set in __________________________.

6) The ______________________ is the highest female voice and is o�en the lead.

7) The person who writes the music of an opera is called the _____________________.

8) The ________________________ is an orchestral introduc�on to the opera.

9) A _________________ is a song sung by two people.

10) The word __________________ means "air" or "manner".

11) A Streetcar Named Desire is based on which playwright’s work?________________________________________________

12) Blanche’s sister is married to  ________________________.

13) What’s the name of the house that Blanche lost?   ______________________________

14) Who does Mitch live with?  ____________________________

15) Who wrote the music for A Streetcar Named Desire?  _________________________________.

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DEFINE ME

Match the opera term with the correct answer.

1) Bravo _____ The dialogue which is "sing-speak"

2) 1998 _____ The text of the opera

3) Recita�ve _____ A group of singers usually divided into sec�ons

4) Conductor _____ "Well done" in Italian

5) Eunice Hubbell _____ The year A Streetcar Named Desire was first performed

6) Libre�o _____ A theme or other musical idea which represents a

person, object, place, or idea.

7) Chorus _____ The people who create the sets, costumes, make-up,wigs and ligh�ng for the opera performance.

8) Phillip Li�ell _____ The person in charge of all the musical aspects of the opera.

9) Quartet _____ The most common category of male voice; lower than a

tenor but higher than a bass.

10) Designers _____ Four people singing together.

11) Leitmo�f _____  The libre�st who wrote A Streetcar Named Desire

12) Baritone _____  The name of Stella’s upstairs neighbor.

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WRITE YOUR OWN OPERA

Using at least FIVEwords from the Glossary and FIVEwords from the list below, write a short story that 

you think might make a good opera.

Arrow Elephant Gorilla Rubber Ball

Balloon Elf Internet Space Aliens

Bicycle Fish Jet plane Teddy Bear

Cereal  Flying Magic Toaster

Computer Forest Pickles Toys

Glossary of Opera Terms

Act: one of the main divisions of a drama, opera or ballet, usually comple�ng apart of the ac�on and o�en having a climax of its own.

Aria: a song sung by one person. In Italian, aria means "air", "style", "manner". Thearia had a central place in early opera and throughout opera�c history, arias havebeen used to highlight an emo�onal state of mind and accentuate the main characters.

Baritone: the most common category of the male voice; lower than a tenor, but higher than a bass. Baritones were more commonly used in during the Roman�c opera era.

Bass: the lowest male voice. Many bass roles are associated with characters ofauthority or comedy.

Bravo: "well done" in Italian. Audiences say this to express their apprecia�on for aperformance.

Chorus: a group of singers usually divided into sec�ons based on vocal range. The choruswas originally an ancient Greek prac�ce of underscoring por�ons of the dramathrough music. The chorus is o�en used for crowd scenes and to play minor characters.

Composer: the person who writes the vocal and/or orchestral music (score).

Conductor: the person in charge of all the musical aspects of an opera; both orchestrally andvocally.

Costumes: the clothing worn on stage by the performers. Costumes can be used to reflect thepersonality of a characters, the historical �me period, country of origin or social ranking.

Designers: the people who create the sets, costumes, make-up, wigs and ligh�ng for the opera performance.

Dynamics: the degree of loudness or so�ness in the music.

Duet: two people singing together.

Finale: t he ending segment of an act or scene.

Leitmo�f: a theme or other musical idea the represents or symbolizes a person, object,place, idea, state of mind, supernatural force or some other ingredient in adrama�c work. An idea used widely throughout German opera, thoughassociated with Richard Wagner in most of his operas.

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Libre�st: the person who writes the text (words) of the opera.

Libre�o: the text of the opera. In Italian, it means "li�le book".

Lyrics: words of an opera or of a song.

Musical: a staged story similar to opera, though most of the dialogue is spoken.

Opera: a staged musical work in which some or all of the parts are sung. In Italian, the word "opera" means a work which is derived as the plural of the La�n opus. Opera is a union of music, drama and spectacle.

Orchestra: a group of musicians led by the conductor who accompany the singers.

Orchestra Pit: a sunken area in front of the stage where the orchestra sits.

Overture: an orchestral introduc�on played before the ac�on begins. The overture iso�en used to set the mood of the opera. Many composers used the overture tointroduce themes or arias within the opera and some�mes the overture becamemore well known than the opera itself.

Pants Role: a young male character who is sung by a woman, usually a mezzo-soprano, meant to imitate the sound of a boy who's voice has not yet changed.

Props: the visual elements of a scene other than the set. Furniture is called "set props"and smaller items (anything held by the performer) are called "hand props".

Quartet: four people singing together

Recita�ve: dialogue which is "sing-speak". The recita�ve helps get through a lot of textquickly and moves the ac�on along. O�en precedes an aria or ensemble.

Set: the visual background on stage. The set shows the loca�on of the ac�on.

Soprano: the highest female voice. The soprano is commonly the lead female character.

Tempo: the speed of the music.

Tenor: the highest natural male voice. O�en the lead male character within the opera.

Trio: three people singing together

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LOOK INTO OPERA!

Everyone knows that the primary focus of opera music is on the singers and there are many singers that we’re familiar with thanks to public television and radio stations. But did you ever wonder about all those people behind-the-scenes that you don’t see? In this section, we’ll take a look at not only singers and their voice types, but also all the people behind-the-scenes that help make opera happen. We’ll also give you some information on opportunities that Arizona Opera has for you to see mainstage performances as well as a behind-the-scenes look at opera through the Opera Look-in program.

Let’s begin with the singers. They’re the ones you see on stage with the costumes, wigs and make-up. Here is a list of the vocal types as well as typical roles/operas in which you might see these types of singers.

Female voicesThere are several types of female voices starting with the highest and lightest voice which is the coloratura soprano. This voice sings very high and can sing very fast notes and trills. The coloratura is featured as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor and Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment. This voice is most often associated with the bel canto (beautiful singing) school of composition. The chief composers of this style were Gioacchino Rossini, Vincen-zo Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti. Famous coloratura sopranos include Natalie Dessay, Sumi Jo and Ruth Ann Swensen.

The next female voice is the lyric soprano. This voice is slightly lower than a coloratura with a deeper quality. This soprano is featured as Aida in Aida, Mimi in La Boheme, Minnie in The Girl of the Golden West and Elisabeth in Don Carlo. The are many famous women in this category including Maria Callas, Leontyne Price and Renee Fleming. Still lower is the coloratura mezzo-soprano. Like the soprano, the coloratura mezzo can sing very fast notes and trills, only lower than the so-prano. This coloratura mezzo-soprano is featured as Cenerentola in La Ce-nerentola and Rosina in The Barber of Seville. Famous coloratura mezzo-

sopranos include Cecilia Bartoli and Vivica Genaux.

Even lower is the mezzo-soprano (“mezzo” means middle in Italian). The mezzo-soprano has a darker quality to her voice and sings lower female roles like Carmen in Carmen and is often

portrayed as a friend or older woman like Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro or Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin. Current famous mezzo sopra-nos are Denyce Graves and Elīna Garanĉa. The lowest female voice is the contralto. This is a very deep rich voice that can sing very low notes. The best known role for the contralto is Ulrica in The Masked Ball. One of the most famous contraltos was Marion Anderson.

Male voices

There are also several types of male voice starting with the highest which is the countertenor. This voice type can sing very high and often sings in a “falsetto” voice. Many of Handel’s operas such as Orlando or Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar) feature this voice type. There are very few countertenors singing

currently, so sometimes these roles are sung by women. The next male voice is the tenor. This is the voice type that is usually the hero in most operas and has a lot of high notes. Roles featuring the tenor include Don José in Carmen, Count Almaviva in The Barber of Se-ville and Tonio in The Daughter of the Regiment. Famous current tenors include Roberto Alagna, Jonas Kaufmann, Ramon Vargas and José Cura.

Renée Fleming

Elīna Garanĉa

Denyce Graves

Roberto Alagna

José Cura

Vivica Genaux

Natalie Dessay

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Even lower is the baritone which has a deeper, richer quality than the tenor. The baritone can be a lead voice as in Don Giovanni or Boris Godunov but more often is a friend or authority figure as Rodrigue in Don Carlo or Figaro in The Barber of Seville. Current famous baritones include Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson and Bryn Terfel. The bass-baritone is in between the baritone and the bass with a deep, dark quality. Boris Godunov can be sung by a bass-baritone. One of the most famous bass-baritones is Samuel Ramey. The low-

est male voice is the bass (or basso). This is very deep, rich and low. The bass is often an authority figure or even sometimes the villain. Bass roles include Mefistofele (the devil) in Mefistofele, Don Basilio in The Barber of

Seville, Rigoletto in Rigoletto and The Commendatore in Don Giovanni. One of the most fa-mous basses is James Morris.

The OrchestraDown in the “pit”, sits the orchestra and the conductor. The orchestra can range from 12 - 120 musicians depending on the opera. Early operas were often written for smaller orchestras - we call that a chamber orchestra. Grand opera (a term for 19th and some 20th century operas) usually have a large orchestra which include lots of strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and some-times pianos, harpsichords and/or celestes. The conductor is in charge once the perfor-mance begins. He/she keeps the orchestra and the singers together and can determine speed, loudness/softness and starting/stopping the piece. Famous opera conductors include James Levine and Riccardo Muti.

The ChorusThe chorus is a group of people singing on stage who are not the principals but just as important. The chorus actually dates back to ancient Greece when there would be a “Greek chorus” on stage to re-state plot points or repeat something one of the main characters said during the play. The chorus is rehearsed by a chorus master and members of the chorus can be professional singers, but most have other jobs that they do when they’re not singing in an opera production. The chorus can number from as few as 12 to as many as 120 depending on the opera. There are also people on

stage who do not sing but play small roles sometimes as waiters/waitresses, spear holders, party guests, etc. These people are called supernumeraries or “supers”.

The Stage DirectorThe Stage Director works with the cast during the rehearsal period and tells people where to stand, how to move, how to use props, what the look of the show should be, what mo-tivates various characters, etc. The stage director and the conductor work closely to-gether to make sure that the cast is comfortable with both the music and the dramatic elements of the work. Famous stage directors include Francesca Zambello, Franco Zeffi-relli, and Robert Wilson.

Nathan Gunn in Pittsburgh Opera’s Billy Budd

Bryn Terfel

Samuel Ramey

Riccardo Muti

Francesca Zambello

San Francisco Opera’s chorus in CARMEN

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