The Hero is a two act opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti

Gian Carlo Menotti

Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...

. Comissioned by the Opera Company of Philadelphia

Opera Company of Philadelphia

The Opera Company of Philadelphia is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces four fully staged opera productions annually, encompassing works from the seventeenth through the 21st century...

, the work premiered at the Philadelphia Academy of Music

Academy of Music (Philadelphia)

The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...

 on June 1, 1976. At this point of his career, Menotti's style of composition, which rejected the avant-garde, was out of favor with the classical music world. Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

stated in its review of the opera, "Most of Menotti's music is passable Puccini: melodic, easy to take — and totally beside the point in 1976."

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 1 June 1976 (Conductor: Christopher Keene Christopher Keene Christopher Keene was an American conductor.Born in Berkeley, California, Keene studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Associated with the Spoleto Festival from 1968 , he was co-founder of the Spoleto Festival USA, where he was Music Director from 1977 to 1980... )
David Murphy	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Dominic Cossa Dominic Cossa Dominic Cossa is an American operatic lyric baritone particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoire.-Biography:...
Mildred Murphy, David’s wife	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...	Diane Curry
Barbara, David’s cousin	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...	Nancy Shade Nancy Shade Nancy Shade is a celebrated spinto soprano, best known as a singing-actress. She made her formal debut as Leonora in Il trovatore, in Louisville, in 1967. In 1971, she made her first of many appearances at the New York City Opera, as Musetta in La bohème...
Dr. Briankoff	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...	David Griffith
The Mayor	bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	Gary Kendall
The Shopkeeper	bass	Walter Knetlar
The Jeweler	tenor	William Austin
The Guide	baritone	Richard Shapp
Husband of tourist couple #1	baritone	Jonathan Reinhold
Wife of tourist couple #1	mezzo-soprano	Fredda Rakusin
Husband of tourist couple #2	tenor	Paul Spencer Adkins
Wife of tourist couple #2	soprano	Hazelita Fauntroy