Photo by David Wentworth

Is classical music dying? Not if American opera composers have something to say about it. Whereas there is evidence that American symphonic composing has been in a weak state for some time, American opera has been experiencing a resurgence of life in recent years. Joseph Kerman, an important music critic, suggests in his new book, Opera and the Morbidity of Music, that one of the signs of opera’s ascendance has been its ability to acquire new audiences in recent years. He goes on to say, “And to the most damaging charge the culture levels at classical music, its inability to renew itself, opera gives the lie. Music must generate an expanded repertory that will arouse critics and attract audiences; opera is doing this. That opera’s primacy is seldom brought out in premature wakes for classical music is exasperating.” As evidence, Kerman points to well-known composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams, but also adds, “In the last twenty years a long list of operas by well-, little-, and unknown composers of all descriptions have drawn on a whole shelf of classic novels and plays: Little Women, McTeague, Ethan Frome, An American Tragedy, The Great Gatsby, Our Town, A Streetcar Named Desire, A View from the Bridge, and more.”

I had the pleasure recently of performing a scene from a new American opera, The Day Boy and the Night Girl by Jordan Wentworth Farrar. The scene was the culmination of a concert of scenes from American chamber operas that have been produced by the After Dinner Opera company over its 60-year history. This small company has faithfully produced hundreds of American operas over the years, including works by Seymour Barab, Duke Ellington, Amy Beach, Lee Hoiby and many others. They are currently raising money to produce Farrar’s opera next year. Farrar’s music is tonal, with haunting melodic themes interspersed with tightly stacked vocal harmonies. We singers danced through the whole scene, which required particular concentration on physical grace and choreography in addition to the technically difficult singing. It was both challenging and exciting to be a part of this new and unusual work.

Photo by David Wentworth

A few days after the performance, I spent some time in conversation with Jordan Wentworth Farrar about the story behind this opera.

What is your educational background? Did you train as a composer?
I studied psychology and music in college, but never formally studied composition. After college I was studying opera in Spain, but my Italian boyfriend kept insisting that opera was dead and convinced me to join a rock band. In the interest of improving the song quality, I began composing songs for the band. This led eventually to composing several film scores. I have played and sung in a number of rock bands over the years, one of which included a string quartet, and these were great places for exploring composition, as these bands had great energy but no ego about being expressive or the snotty attitudes you sometimes see in opera.

What inspired you to write an opera?
I was in a vocal master class and listening to some amazing singers. I was suddenly struck by an idea for an art song for a particularly good singer. The scene was from one of my favorite stories, The Day Boy and the Night Girl by George MacDonald. That original scene eventually turned into the whole opera. I have not actually read the story in a number of years and purposefully did not go back and reread it while composing the opera, as I wanted it to serve more as an inspiration to the opera rather than the opera being an exact setting of the story.

How long did it take to finish the opera? What is its structure?
It’s taken about three and half years of work to finish the piano/vocal score, and I am deep into the orchestration now. The opera is through-composed in the manner of Puccini or Strauss. There are arias that can stand alone, but they flow from and into the music around them. The music is written for full lyric voices in contrast to some of the recent trends in American opera toward a more musical theater sound. I have also written it with the voices of many of the great emerging artists I have heard in recent years (who are often just as good as the voices I hear at the Met or other big houses) in mind. I hope that it will be sung by emerging artists. The Met awarded grants of $50,000 to 10 different composer/librettist teams in 2005 to compose new American operas. There was an article in the New York Times about a year ago discussing how very little progress has been made on many of these projects. Some of the composers are still waiting to get material from their librettists, others are still developing ideas. For me, having a specific vision of what I wanted and doing both the libretto and the composing myself has worked better.

What kind of support have you received?
I was introduced to Louisa Jonason, the director of the After Dinner Opera company, who was looking for a new American chamber opera to produce. The After Dinner Opera company has produced hundreds of American chamber operas since it was founded by Richard Flusser in 1950. Louisa was very supportive of my work and has been raising money to produce The Day Boy and the Night Girl in December of 2009. Thus far almost $40,000 has been raised for the production.

What are the plans for producing the opera?
The plan is to perform the opera with full cast and an eleven-piece orchestra in the Dicapo Opera Theatre space in New York City in December 2009. This spring I’m working on doing a recording of the opera with singers who are currently preparing the music. After a New York run, I’m hoping to do a run of shows in Houston as a fundraiser for the Houston Children’s Hospital. I’ve composed the opera with chamber opera spaces in mind and could easily see it being done in churches or other small theater spaces. For more information on future performances, watch www.dayboynightgirl.com.

Are you planning to continue composing opera?
Yes, I think I’ve found what I want to do with my life! I’ve already begun composing my second opera, based on a short story I wrote some years ago. It combines magic realism with a murder mystery.

A Streetcar Named Desire A View from the Bridge After Dinner Opera American opera Amy Beach An American Tragedy Duke Ellington Ethan Frome George MacDonald John Adams Jordan Wentworth Farrar Joseph Kerman Lee Hoiby Little Women Louisa Jonason McTeague Opera and the Morbidity of Music Our Town Philip Glass Richard Flusser Seymour Barab The Day Boy and the Night Girl The Great Gatsby