An American Tragedy is an opera in two acts composed by Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker is an American composer. Picker began composing at the age of eight and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Princeton University, where his principal teachers were Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt...

 to a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Gene Scheer. This was Picker's fourth opera, written four years after the debut of Thérèse Raquin

Thérèse Raquin (opera)

Thérèse Raquin is an opera in two acts composed by Tobias Picker to a libretto by Gene Scheer based on the novel Thérèse Raquin by Emile Zola. It is Picker's third opera, following Emmeline and Fantastic Mr. Fox and was commissioned by the Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, and the Opéra de Montréal...

(also composed with Scheer). Based on the Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...

 novel, An American Tragedy

An American Tragedy

-Plot summary:The ambitious but immature Clyde Griffiths, raised by poor and devoutly religious parents who force him to participate in their street missionary work, is anxious to achieve better things. His troubles begin when he takes a job as a bellboy at a local hotel. The boys he meets are...

, the opera was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 and premiered in New York City on December 2, 2005.

Roles

Role	Voice	Premier Cast, 2004 (Conductor: James Conlon James Conlon James Conlon is an American conductor and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.-Early years:Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, Queens, New York. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New... )
Roberta Alden	Soprano	Patricia Racette Patricia Racette Patricia Lynn Racette is an American operatic soprano. A winner of the Richard Tucker Award in 1998, she has been a regular presence at major opera houses internationally. Racette has enjoyed long-term partnerships with the San Francisco Opera, where she has been a regular performer since 1989,...
Sondra Finchley	Mezzo-Soprano	Susan Graham Susan Graham Susan Graham is an American mezzo-soprano.Raised in Midland, Texas, she is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music. She studied the piano for 13 years...
Clyde Griffiths	Baritone	Nathan Gunn Nathan Gunn Nathan Gunn is an operatic baritone from the United States.He has appeared in many of world's well-known opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera,...
Elvira Griffiths	Mezzo-Soprano	Dolora Zajick Dolora Zajick Dolora Zajick is an American mezzo-soprano who specializes in the Verdian repertoire. Zajick is arguably the leading exponent in the dramatic Verdian mezzo-soprano repertoire....
Elizabeth Griffiths	Mezzo-Soprano	Jennifer Larmore Jennifer Larmore Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, noted for coloratura and bel canto.- Career :Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano, well known for her versatility, natural beauty and stage craft...
Bella Griffiths	Soprano	Jennifer Aylmer Jennifer Aylmer Jennifer Aylmer is an American operatic soprano noted for significant performances with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and as an oratorio soloist with major ensembles such as the National Symphony, and the Oratorio Society of New York....
Samuel Griffiths	Tenor	Kim Begley
Gilbert Griffiths	Tenor	William Burden
Orville Mason	Baritone	Richard Bernstein
Grace Marr	Soprano	Clare Gormley
Hortense	Soprano	Anna Christy Anna Christy Anna Christy is an America soprano opera singer. She studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and made her debut in 2000 at New York City Opera as Papagena....

Synopsis

Taking place in the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the century, Clyde Griffiths moves from Chicago to New York City to accept a job offer from his rich uncle, Samuel, the owner of a shirt factory. Despite being warned to keep away from the ladies at the factory, Clyde pursues two women at once - Roberta and Sondra. Although Clyde falls deeply in love with Sondra, he learns that Roberta is pregnant with his child. Clyde must decide between marrying his true love, achieving his American dream through the beautiful Sondra, or taking responsibility and marrying Roberta.

Critical reception

Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times wrote that "The opera is accomplished, dramatically effective and thoroughly professional...the cast seemed to relish singing Mr. Picker's opera." And Alex Ross of The New Yorker, said that the opera "hits the mark" and is "a serious, substantial piece." David Patrick Stearns, of The Philadelphia Inquirerwrites that "...the hero here is composer Picker. He knows how to write emotionally searching arias constructed with lyrically declaimed lines and phrases that echo popular song. The orchestration is full of psychologically penetrating effects. ...The score's theatrical good sense is remarkable.... Few modern operas are paced as effectively as this."

External links

• Schott Music
  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 currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
  
  , An American Tragedy
• Excerpt with Patricia Racette on Youtube
• Photos from the opera