Dolores Claiborne (opera)

This article is about the opera. For the novel on which it is based, see Dolores Claiborne. For the film adaptation, see Dolores Claiborne (film).

Dolores Claiborne is an opera in two acts composed by Tobias Picker to a libretto by J.D. McClatchy. Based on the Stephen King novel, Dolores Claiborne, the opera was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera and premiered in San Francisco on September 18, 2013.[1][2][3][4][5]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 18 September 2013[6]
(Conductor: George Manahan)
Dolores Claiborne mezzo-soprano Patricia Racette
Vera Donavan soprano Elizabeth Futral
Joe St. Georgebass-baritone Wayne Tigges
Selena St. Georgesoprano Susannah Biller
Detective Thibodeau tenor Greg Fedderly

Synopsis

Act 1

Dolores Claiborne is being interrogated about the recent death of Vera Donovan, a wealthy widow who employed Dolores as a maid for forty years. The police believe Dolores to be Vera’s murderer, despite her claims to the contrary. While denying their accusations, she begins to tell the story of her life, her dead husband, and her estranged daughter. A series of flashbacks reveal that when she began working for Vera Donovan, Dolores was the victim of an abusive husband whom she eventually learns is also molesting their daughter. Vera and Dolores gradually develop a relationship during her first ten years of service. On the eve of a solar eclipse, Dolores confides in her employer about her husband and his abuse of both her and her daughter. Vera suggests Dolores take advantage of the up-coming eclipse to solve her problem, singing, “accidents can be an unhappy woman’s best friend”.

Act 2

The second act opens with Dolores preparing food and liquor for watching the solar eclipse with her husband. When her husband appears she provokes him into a rage, running off into the woods. While in pursuit, Dolores’ husband falls into a well she had concealed with branches earlier. Dolores covers the well with planks, leaving her husband inside to die. Back in the present, the interrogation of Dolores continues. She is joined by Selena, her now adult daughter, who tells the police Dolores could not have murdered Vera as the two had become very close after 40 years together. Shortly after it is revealed that Vera left her entire estate to Dolores, though Dolores curses her name in response. Back at her home, Selena asks her mother what really happened to Vera Donovan. The next scene reveals that Vera took her own life, throwing herself down a flight of stairs while Dolores is not looking. In the end, Selena leaves Dolores alone yet again, still having not forgiven her for the murder of her father.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Woolfe, Zachary (19 September 2013). "From the Page to the Stage, a Confession Receives an Operatic Turn". New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Swed, Mark (23 September 2013). "Review: San Francisco Opera's 'Dolores Claiborne' moody but conventional". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Kosman, Joshua (19 September 2013). "Opera review: 'Dolores Claiborne'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2014
  4. ↑ Rowe, Georgia. "Dolores Claiborne". Opera News. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Martinfield, Sean. "Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne-- A Daring World Premier at San Francisco Opera". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Schott Music. Tobias Picker: Dolores Claiborne. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

External links

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