Patience and Sarah (opera)
Encyclopedia
Patience and Sarah is a 1998 opera by Paula M. Kimper. The libretto is by Wende Persons, based on the novel of the same name
by Isabel Miller. It has been described as the first lesbian
opera and as the first mainstream gay-themed opera.
in 1993. Miller gave the pair permission to adapt her novel as an opera, and signed over the rights shortly before she died in 1996.
Kimper and Persons cite Richard Strauss
as an influence, and mention that their wish to make the opera "economically viable to produce" led to their choice of a small orchestra and no chorus.
The opera was formally commissioned by American Opera Projects
, which presented readings of the work in development from 1994 to 1996. A semi-staged final version, accompanied by piano, was performed in July 1996.
Patience and Sarah premiered on July 8, 1998, as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Steven Osgood conducted the chamber orchestra, Douglas Moser directed, and Marie Anne Chiment
designed the sets and costumes. Some of the cast members were those from the 1996 semi-staged version, including Lori Ann Phillips and Elaine Valby as the title pair, though John G. Bellemer replaced Michael Hendrick as Edward White. Many lesbians, who unlike gay men are not known for opera patronage, attended, as well as other first-time operagoers. The premiere coincided with a display at the American Folk Art Museum
of the art of Mary Ann Willson
, on whose story the novel was based.
The opera has been performed a number of times, in full stagings or in excerpts, in other locations. Laure Meloy, who premiered the role of Rachel, has often sung Patience in these performances and concerts. "I Want To Live," Patience and Sarah's Act II duet, appears on Lesbian American Composers, the third album in Composers Recordings, Inc.
's "Gay American Composers" series.
fairly closely, with the wealthy and well-educated Patience and the poor farmer's daughter Sarah falling in love and sharing their dreams of leaving Connecticut to go pioneering. Their families prevent their leaving together, with Sarah's father beating her, but Sarah disguises herself as a boy and travels with Parson Peel, who falls in love with her before she reveals herself as a woman. Sarah returns, and after Patience's brother demands the two leave his home, they set out to start a farm and a life together, and sing a final duet on the dock. (The novel ends slightly later, after the voyage and the establishment of the farm.)
described Kimper's score as "accessible, attractively lyrical," noting that it drew on hymn tunes and parlor songs but also contained impressionistic influences. Anthony Tommasini
of the Times, reviewing the 1998 premiere, criticized Kimper's Romantic
touches and said that the opera's "strongest musical moments were when it sounded like [the folk opera Kimper described it as], especially the set-piece hymns and songs." James Jorden
compared the music to The Ballad of Baby Doe
and the work of Virgil Thomson
, and said that Kimper set the libretto "great sensitivity to the cadences of natural speech." Kozinn and Jorden both observed that the opera was too long. Persons's libretto was generally viewed favorably. Specific excerpts that drew praise were Sarah's "gorgeous, Ravel
ian aria" in Act II and "a charming and dramatically sensitive setting of the Lord's Prayer and a tear-jerking ballad for the lovesick Parson." "I Want To Live" was also described as having "Ravel-like harmonies."
Patience and Sarah
Patience and Sarah is a 1969 historical fiction novel with strong lesbian themes by Alma Routsong, using the pen name Isabel Miller. It was originally self-published under the title A Place For Us and eventually found a publisher as Patience and Sarah in 1971.Routsong's novel is based on a...
by Isabel Miller. It has been described as the first lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
opera and as the first mainstream gay-themed opera.
History
Persons began writing the libretto in 1981, after a lesbian opera singer, upon whom Persons had a crush, mentioned that she had trouble identifying with the straight characters she played. "She never got to be who she really was and sing of her love for women," Persons says. "I thought about it and said to myself, wouldn't it be great to do this?" Persons finished the first draft in three weeks in order to impress the singer. In 1989, she asked her then-partner Kimper to collaborate; Kimper, a composer of incidental stage music and film scores, initially refused, but reconsidered after seeing a performance of the Ring Cycle at the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan 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...
in 1993. Miller gave the pair permission to adapt her novel as an opera, and signed over the rights shortly before she died in 1996.
Kimper and Persons cite Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
as an influence, and mention that their wish to make the opera "economically viable to produce" led to their choice of a small orchestra and no chorus.
The opera was formally commissioned by American Opera Projects
American Opera Projects
American Opera Projects is a professional opera company based in New York City, NY and is a member of OPERA America, the Fort Greene Association, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/ New York]] . The company's primary mission is to develop and present new works...
, which presented readings of the work in development from 1994 to 1996. A semi-staged final version, accompanied by piano, was performed in July 1996.
Patience and Sarah premiered on July 8, 1998, as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Steven Osgood conducted the chamber orchestra, Douglas Moser directed, and Marie Anne Chiment
Marie Anne Chiment
Marie Anne Chiment has created sets and costumes for hundreds of productions across the United States for opera, theatre and dance. Ms. Chiment’s sets and costumes have graced the stages of Santa Fe Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Kennedy Center, Wolftrap Opera and Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre...
designed the sets and costumes. Some of the cast members were those from the 1996 semi-staged version, including Lori Ann Phillips and Elaine Valby as the title pair, though John G. Bellemer replaced Michael Hendrick as Edward White. Many lesbians, who unlike gay men are not known for opera patronage, attended, as well as other first-time operagoers. The premiere coincided with a display at the American Folk Art Museum
American Folk Art Museum
The American Folk Art Museum is a museum devoted to American folk art, as well as the work of international self-taught artists. It has branches at 45 West 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, in Midtown Manhattan .In May 2011 the Museum of Modern Art bought its 53rd Street location...
of the art of Mary Ann Willson
Mary Ann Willson
Mary Ann Willson was an American folk artist, known for her watercolors. She was unknown until 1943, when a portfolio of her work was discovered by a gallery in New York...
, on whose story the novel was based.
The opera has been performed a number of times, in full stagings or in excerpts, in other locations. Laure Meloy, who premiered the role of Rachel, has often sung Patience in these performances and concerts. "I Want To Live," Patience and Sarah's Act II duet, appears on Lesbian American Composers, the third album in Composers Recordings, Inc.
Composers Recordings, Inc.
Composers Recordings, Inc. was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City....
's "Gay American Composers" series.
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... |
Premiere cast, July 8, 1998 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Steven Osgood) |
|---|---|---|
| Patience White | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Lori Ann Phillips |
| Sarah Dowling | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Elaine Valby |
| Parson Daniel Peel, an itinerant bookseller | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Barton Green |
| Edward White, Patience's brother | tenor | John G. Bellemer |
| Martha White, his wife | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Amy Ellen Anderson |
| Pa Dowling, Sarah's father | bass | LeRoy Lehr |
| Ma Dowling, Sarah's mother | mezzo-soprano | Janet Ellis |
| Rachel Dowling, Sarah's younger sister | soprano | Laure Meloy |
Synopsis
The plot of the opera follows that of the novelPatience and Sarah
Patience and Sarah is a 1969 historical fiction novel with strong lesbian themes by Alma Routsong, using the pen name Isabel Miller. It was originally self-published under the title A Place For Us and eventually found a publisher as Patience and Sarah in 1971.Routsong's novel is based on a...
fairly closely, with the wealthy and well-educated Patience and the poor farmer's daughter Sarah falling in love and sharing their dreams of leaving Connecticut to go pioneering. Their families prevent their leaving together, with Sarah's father beating her, but Sarah disguises herself as a boy and travels with Parson Peel, who falls in love with her before she reveals herself as a woman. Sarah returns, and after Patience's brother demands the two leave his home, they set out to start a farm and a life together, and sing a final duet on the dock. (The novel ends slightly later, after the voyage and the establishment of the farm.)
Reception
Reactions to the opera have been mostly positive. Reviewing the 1996 performance for the New York Times, Allan KozinnAllan Kozinn
-Biography:He received bachelor's degrees in music and journalism from Syracuse University in 1976. He began freelancing as a critic and music feature writer for the New York Times in 1977, and joined the paper's staff in 1991...
described Kimper's score as "accessible, attractively lyrical," noting that it drew on hymn tunes and parlor songs but also contained impressionistic influences. Anthony Tommasini
Anthony Tommasini
-Early years:Tommasini was born in Brooklyn around 1948 and raised on Long Island. He was admitted to Oberlin College's Conservatory of Music, but chose to matriculate at Yale University in order to obtain a broader liberal arts education...
of the Times, reviewing the 1998 premiere, criticized Kimper's Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
touches and said that the opera's "strongest musical moments were when it sounded like [the folk opera Kimper described it as], especially the set-piece hymns and songs." James Jorden
James Jorden
James Jorden is an American journalist, music critic, and opera director. He is the founding editor of the popular e-zine-cum-blog parterre box which covers the topic of opera from a queer perspective. Parterre box and Jorden have been featured in numerous notable media publications, including...
compared the music to The Ballad of Baby Doe
The Ballad of Baby Doe
The Ballad of Baby Doe is an opera by the American composer Douglas Moore that uses an English-language libretto by John Latouche. It is Moore's most famous opera and one of the few American operas to be in the standard repertory...
and the work of Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, and said that Kimper set the libretto "great sensitivity to the cadences of natural speech." Kozinn and Jorden both observed that the opera was too long. Persons's libretto was generally viewed favorably. Specific excerpts that drew praise were Sarah's "gorgeous, Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
ian aria" in Act II and "a charming and dramatically sensitive setting of the Lord's Prayer and a tear-jerking ballad for the lovesick Parson." "I Want To Live" was also described as having "Ravel-like harmonies."