The Scarlet Professor is an opera by the American composer Eric Sawyer with libretto by Harley Erdman, based on the biography [1] by Barry Werth.
The Scarlet Professor is an opera by the American composer Eric Sawyer with libretto by Harley Erdman, based on the biography [1] by Barry Werth.
The world premieres of the fully staged opera occurred on September 15–17, 2017, at Smith College where the events that inspired the performance took place. The opera was performed without intermission with running time of about one hour and 40 minutes. A symposium [2] on the Arvin case was held all day on September 16. The following weekend the opera was performed with a cast of young artists from the Five Colleges consortium of Western Massachusetts.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 15 September 2017 Conductor: Eduardo Leandro |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Arvin | tenor | William Hite |
| Ned Spofford | baritone | Keith Phares |
| Hester Prynne | mezzo-soprano | Blythe Gaissert |
| Helen Bacon | soprano | Sarah Pelletier |
| Truman Capote | countertenor | Bryan Pollock |
| Officer Regan | baritone | James Dernier |
| Doctor | soprano | Kristen Watson |
| Arthur Summerfield | baritone | Sumner Thompson |
The 9-piece instrumental ensemble consisted of piano, percussion, flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone, and strings, with both electric and double bass.
Reviewer Marvin J. Ward found the opera a "compelling and captivating work", adding "...composer Eric Sawyer has a penchant for choosing historical events, especially local ones, as the subjects of his operas. This is the third that I have seen, each more polished and refined than its predecessor, with The Scarlet Professor scoring a 10/10 in my book." [3] The Scarlet Professor won the 2019 American Prize in opera composition. [4]
Henry Ward Beecher was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His rhetorical focus on Christ's love has influenced mainstream Christianity through the 21st century.
Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is a member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. Smith is also a member of the Five College Consortium with four other institutions in the Pioneer Valley: Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; students of each college are allowed to attend classes at any other member institution. On campus are Smith's Museum of Art and Botanic Garden, the latter designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
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