We’re featuring an American opera on this week’s Sunday Opera (3/16 3:00 p.m.) in Lori Laitman’s 2016 treatment of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” featuring a libretto by David Mason. Hawthorne’s 1850 novel is a moral allegory centering on Hester Prynne’s affair with the Reverend Dimmesdale, the birth of her illegitimate daughter, Pearl, and her strength and determination to make a life for them in the face of hatred and prejudice.
Hester’s (Laura Claycomb) husband Malcolm MacKenzie) seems to have abandoned her, and in her loneliness, she falls under the spell of the young minister Arthur Dimmsdale (Dominic Armstrong) resulting in the birth of an illegitimate daughter named Pearl.
Through her pregnancy, Hester remains silent as to the identity of the father, and she is forced to wear a red letter “A” on her breast to denote her adultery. Although she handles the pressure well, Dimmsdale eventually succumbs to his guilt (helped along by the local witch Mistress Hibbons (Margaret Gawrysink)), denounces himself, brands an “A” on his own chest, and promptly dies.
Hester leaves the colony only to return several years later when most of the hysteria surrounding her pregnancy has abated, and she once again resumes her role in the community, showing her skills at healing. Her kindness and care eventually leads people to believe that the “A” stands for “Able” and eventually “Angel.”
Also featured in the cast from this 2016 recording are Daniel Belcher as Governor Bellingham, and Kyle Knapp as John Wilson. They’re joined by the Opera Colorado Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Ari Pelto.
Following the opera, host Michael Kownacky will be presenting a recording of the world’s longest recorded symphony by Havergal Brian. His Symphony No. 1 in D minor, also known as “The Gothic,” is a massive piece which was composed between 1919 and 1927. The symphony runs for nearly two hours and requires some 1,000 performers to mount, so it has only been performed a few times, the last apparently taking place in 2011. It is, however, said to be the longest symphony to be performed in a concert setting. Join us to hear this symphonic anomaly in its entirety.
