Willie Stark | |
---|---|
Opera by Carlisle Floyd | |
Librettist | Floyd |
Language | English |
Based on | All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren |
Premiere |
Willie Stark is an opera in three acts and nine scenes by Carlisle Floyd to his own libretto, after the 1946 novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, which in turn was inspired by the life of the Louisiana governor Huey Long. The opera was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, which premiered it on April 24, 1981, in a production directed by Harold Prince and conducted by John DeMain. The original production was dedicated to the American radio journalist Lowell Thomas. Floyd made cuts to the score for a television presentation of the opera, and the edited version was shown on US public television in September 1981. [1]
The opera was remounted in 2007 by the Louisiana State University Opera. The composer visited the university and advised on the production. [2] The production was recorded and released on DVD, by Newport Classic.
The work generated some small controversy among music critics, as it draws upon elements of Broadway musical theater more than Floyd's other more traditionally operatic works. The involvement of Broadway director Harold Prince in the initial production contributed to the emphasis of these elements of the work. In the years since its premiere, this sort of blurring of boundaries between opera and Broadway musicals has become commonplace.
Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, April 24, 1981 (Conductor: – John DeMain) |
---|---|---|
Willie Stark, Governor | baritone | Timothy Nolen |
Jack Burden, aide to Willie Stark | tenor | Alan Kays |
Anne Stanton, Jack's fiancé | soprano | Julia Conwell |
Judge Courtney Burden | bass-baritone | Don Garrard |
Sadie Burke, Stark's administrative assistant | mezzo-soprano | Jan Curtis |
Sugar Boy, bodyguard to Willie Stark | tenor | Robert Moulson |
Mrs. Stark, mother of Willie Stark | soprano | Lynn Griebling |
Lucy, daughter of Willie Stark | soprano | Lisa de la Reza |
"Tiny" Duffy, Lieutenant Governor | tenor | David Vosburgh |
Jeff, a Senator | tenor | Bruce Ford |
Hugh, another Senator | baritone | Robert Ousley |
George William, butler to Judge Burden | speaking role | Herbert Wilkerson |
Mayor | speaking role | Donald Bess |
Reporter | speaking role | Graydon Vaught |
Radio Announcer | spoken and pre-recorded | Lowell Thomas |
The setting is 1935, in the state capital of an unnamed southern American state. The story covers a period of 10 days.
Willie Stark is a southern American politician, of humble origin, now a state governor. He began his political career as an idealist and champion of the working class, but as his career progresses, he becomes more and more corrupt, shrewd and ruthless, willing to stretch the boundaries of the law as far as he can.
The plot involves Governor Stark's attempts to avoid impeachment for his tampering with his state's legal system for his own ends, by which he has ruined many lives. Meanwhile, he falls in love with socialite Anne Stanton. Anne is engaged to marry Jack Burden, the Governor's aide. Judge Burden, Jack's father, is a highly respected judge and favors impeaching Stark. Willie tries to persuade Anne to break off her engagement with Jack and marry him instead, which she finally agrees to do. The governor’s longtime political associate and advisor, Sadie Burke, finds Willie Stark and Anne together. Sadie is furious at this, and realizes that she is no longer the only woman in his life.
At one point, Judge Burden is charged with bribery. Jack finds evidence to support the accusation, though he does not want to believe the evidence. Jack confronts his father, after which Judge Burden commits suicide, with a pistol hidden in his desk. A few days later, Jack is distraught to learn from Sadie of Anne’s plans to marry the Governor. At the end, Willie is giving a speech to a crowd. Jack emerges from the crowd and assassinates the Governor, and in turn, Jack is killed.
Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935. He received the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for All the King's Men (1946) and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1958 and 1979. He is the only person to have won Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and poetry.
Huey Pierce Long Jr., nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States Senator from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. He was a populist member of the Democratic Party and rose to national prominence during the Great Depression for his vocal criticism of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, which Long deemed insufficiently radical. As the political leader of Louisiana, he commanded wide networks of supporters and often took forceful action. A controversial figure, Long is celebrated as a populist champion of the poor or, conversely, denounced as a fascistic demagogue.
Carlisle Sessions Floyd was an American composer primarily known for his dozen or so operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post-civil war South, the Great Depression and rural life. His best known opera, Susannah, is based on a story from the Biblical Apocrypha, transferred to contemporary rural Tennessee, and written for a Southern dialect. It was premiered at Florida State University in 1955, with Phyllis Curtin in the title role. When it was staged at the New York City Opera the following year, the reception was initially mixed; some considered it a masterpiece, while others degraded it as a 'folk opera'. Subsequent performances led to an increase in Susannah's reputation and the opera quickly became among the most performed of American operas.
Harold Smith Prince, commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatrical director and producer known for his work in musical theater.
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians, the company is resident at the Wortham Theater Center. In its history, the company has received a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards, the only opera company in the world to win these three honours. Houston Grand Opera is supported by an active auxiliary organization, the Houston Grand Opera Guild, established in October 1955.
Kitty Carlisle Hart was an American actress, singer, and spokeswoman for the arts. She is best remembered as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. She served 20 years on the New York State Council on the Arts.
All the King's Men is a 2006 American political drama film written, directed and produced by Steven Zaillian based on the 1946 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. All the King's Men had previously been adapted into a Best Picture Oscar–winning film by writer-director Robert Rossen in 1949. The film narrates the rise to power and dramatic demise of the ruthless Governor Willie Stark, taking his office in the American South. The fictional character is loosely based on the life of Louisiana governor Huey Long, in office between 1928 through 1932. Elected as a U.S. senator, he was assassinated in 1935. The film co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley.
The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University.
All the King's Men is a 1949 American film noir written, produced, and directed by Robert Rossen. It is based on the 1946 Robert Penn Warren novel of the same name. The film stars Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, and Joanne Dru. The plot focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician Willie Stark (Crawford) in the American South. Though a fictional character, Stark strongly resembles Louisiana governor Huey Long.
Frank Corsaro was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana (1961).
Stark and Starke are German and English surnames; in the German language stark means "strong" or "powerful". Notable people with the surname include:
Louisiana State University School of Music is a music school located on the northwestern side of the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The school is part of LSU's College of Music & Dramatic Arts, which also includes the LSU School of Theater. The college includes over 100 faculty and staff, over 600 majors, and offers wide range of degrees and curricular concentrations.
Robert Moulson was an American classical tenor who had an active international career in operas and concerts from the late 1950s through the 1980s. He became particularly associated with the role of Lenny Small in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men; a role which he recorded and portrayed in its original production at the Seattle Opera in 1970.
William Chapman was an American operatic baritone and stage actor. He appeared in several Broadway productions and was notably a leading performer at the New York City Opera from 1957 through 1979.
Herbert Grossman was an American conductor who was chiefly known for his work within opera and musical theatre.
Bilby's Doll is an opera in three acts composed by Carlisle Floyd. The libretto is based on the 1928 American novel A Mirror for Witches by Esther Forbes.
All the King's Men is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. Its title is drawn from the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty". The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It is commonly thought to have been loosely inspired by the real-life story of U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, who was assassinated in 1935.
All The King's Men is a 1971 Soviet TV mini-series, adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's 1946 novel of the same name.
"All the King's Men" was an American television play broadcast in two parts by NBC on May 14 and 21, 1958, as part of the television series, Kraft Television Theatre. It was written by Don Mankiewicz based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren. Sidney Lumet was the director, and the cast was led by Neville Brand as Willie Stark and Maureen Stapleton as Sadie Burke.
Joaquin Romaguera is an American tenor and actor. A longtime performer with the New York City Opera from the 1960s through the 1980s, he notably created the role of Professor Risselberg in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Most Important Man in 1971. On Broadway he originated the role of Adolfo Pirelli in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979). He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Teddy in the 1987 Off-Broadway revival of Cole Porter's Gay Divorce. Other career milestones included portraying Nicolas Orsini in the world premiere of Alberto Ginastera's Bomarzo with the Opera Society of Washington, and appearing as Captain Pirzel in the United States premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten with conductor Sarah Caldwell and the Opera Company of Boston in 1982.