Rain (opera)

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Rain, originally entitled Sadie Thompson (1997), is an American opera by Richard Owen, based on the 1921 short story Rain by Somerset Maugham. The first version, named not after the story title, but like the 1928 Gloria Swanson film named after the female leading character, Sadie Thompson, was premiered 20 November 1997. [1] [2] The revised version of the opera, Rain, was premiered by Camerata New York at Alice Tully Hall 20 February 2003. [3] A recording of the 2003 performances was issued on Albany Records. [4]

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"Rain" is a short story by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham. It was originally published as "Miss Thompson" in the April 1921 issue of the American literary magazine The Smart Set, and was included in the collection of stories by Maugham The Trembling of a Leaf.

Malaloa is a sub-village of Fagatogo and is located at the end of Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa. It is located in-between Fagatogo proper and the village of Pago Pago. Cruising boats entering and leaving Pago Pago should clear at Malaloa Marina. The Malaloa Marina was opened for cruisers’ use and has added a customs wharf to handle inbound and outbound clearances.

Sadie Thompson is a 1944 musical in two acts and three scenes by composer Vernon Duke and lyricist Howard Dietz. The musical book, written by Dietz and Rouben Mamoulian, is based on the short story "Rain" by W. Somerset Maugham, published in the literary magazine The Smart Set in 1921. Originally written as a vehicle for Ethel Merman, the actress withdrew from production on September 29, 1944 after just a week and a half of rehearsals, and the lead part went to June Havoc. The work premiered at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia on October 26, 1944 where it ran for two weeks of tryout performances, then moved to New York. The original production was produced by A.P. Waxman, directed by Mamoulian, and choreographed by Edward Caton. Boris Aronson designed the sets, and the Motley Theatre Design Group designed the costumes.

Sadie Thompson refers to the main character from "Rain" by W. Somerset Maugham (1921). Several adaptations of that story exist with that title:

The playwright, novelist and short-story writer W. Somerset Maugham, was a prolific author from the late 19th century until the 1960s. Most of his earliest successes were for the theatre, but he gave up writing plays after 1932. Many of his plays have been adapted for broadcasting and the cinema, as have several of his novels and short stories. The New York Times commented in 1964, "There are times when one thinks that British television and radio would have to shut up shop if there were not an apparently inexhaustible supply of stories by Maugham to turn into 30-minute plays. One recalls, too, the long list of movies that have been made from his novels − Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, The Painted Veil, The Razor's Edge and the rest.

The Trembling of a Leaf: Little Stories of the South Sea Islands is a collection of short stories by W. Somerset Maugham, first published in New York in 1921 by the George H. Doran Company.

References

  1. Janet Allon, “From Court House to Opera House,” NYT (Nov. 16, 1997): CT, 6; “Music,” NYT (November 16, 1997):
  2. Operas in English: A Dictionary Margaret Ross Griffel - 2012 Page 429 0810883252 "Sadie Thompson, opera by Richard Owen; libretto (Eng) by the composer, after Somerset Maugham's short story Rain (1921). First performance November 20, ..."
  3. New York (magazine) Volumes 35-36 - Page 99 2003 Camerata New York Richard Owen's new opera. Rain, is based on Somerset Maughams's story about a prostitute and a missionary in the South Seas.
  4. Albany Records - Rain