McTeague is an American opera composed by William Bolcom with a libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Robert Altman. The opera is based on a novel of the same name by Frank Norris (written in 1895, published in 1899) which also served as the source material for the Erich von Stroheim film Greed (1924). The piece was written on commission for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and first performed there on October 31, 1992. [1] [2]
Role | Voice type [3] | Premiere cast, 31 October 1992 [4] (Conductor: Dennis Russell Davies) |
---|---|---|
McTeague, an unlicensed dentist in San Francisco | tenor | Ben Heppner |
Maria Miranda Macapa, McTeague's mentally ill cleaning lady | mezzo-soprano | Emily Golden |
Marcus Schouler, a worker in a veterinary hospital and McTeague's friend | baritone | Timothy Nolen |
Trina Sieppe, Marcus Schouler's cousin, later McTeague's wife | soprano | Catherine Malfitano |
Sheriff | tenor | Patrick Denniston |
Papa Sieppe, Trina's father | bass-baritone | William F. Walker |
Mama Sieppe, Trina's mother | mezzo-soprano | Martha Jane Howe |
Owgooste, Trina's younger brother | treble | John Capone |
Lottery Agent/Health Inspector | bass | Wilbur Pauley |
Dentist | baritone | Victor Benedetti |
Waiters, guests, barbershop quartet, sheriff's posse |
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and satirical films with overlapping dialogue and ensemble casts. Over his career he received several awards including an Academy Honorary Award, two British Academy Film Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for seven competitive Academy Awards.
Greed is a 1924 American silent psychological drama film written and directed by Erich von Stroheim and based on the 1899 Frank Norris novel McTeague. It stars Gibson Gowland as Dr. John McTeague; ZaSu Pitts as Trina Sieppe, his wife; and Jean Hersholt as McTeague's friend and eventual enemy Marcus Schouler. The film tells the story of McTeague, a San Francisco dentist, who marries his best friend Schouler's girlfriend Trina.
Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. was an American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (1899), The Octopus: A Story of California (1901) and The Pit (1903).
Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma. Fox re-organized the company in 1956 under its present name. Lyric is housed in a theater and related spaces in the Civic Opera Building. These spaces are now owned by Lyric.
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973 until 2008. He is married to mezzo-soprano Joan Morris.
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Sir Andrew Frank Davis was an English conductor. He was the long-time chief conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He was music director at the Glyndebourne Festival from 1988 to 2000, and especially known for conducting the traditional Last Night of The Proms, including Last Night speeches. He was music director and principal conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 2000 to the 2020/21 season.
McTeague: A Story of San Francisco, otherwise known as simply McTeague, is a novel by Frank Norris, first published in 1899. It tells the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty and violence as the result of jealousy and greed. The book was the basis for the films McTeague (1916) and Erich von Stroheim's Greed (1924). It was also adapted as an opera by William Bolcom in 1992.
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