Little Women
The Composer
The Cast
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As librettist, Mark Adamo distilled the essence of the novel into three big events in the life of the March sisters: Meg's wedding, Jo's rejection of her childhood beau (Laurie), and Beth's early death - unfolding in a series of flashbacks as Jo, the independent writer-sister sifts through her memories of an erstwhile "perfect world" that she would have liked to keep just the way it was, but as she comes to realize... "times change."
Photos: (1) Jo and Meg; (2) Jo and Laurie
As composer, Adamo set dialogue to music, dramatizing the story and transforming a string of homespun events into a garland of delightful, moving and at times comical arias, duets, quartets and ensembles - performed with panache and charming musicality by an outstanding cast, who for the most part sang the same roles in the original Houston Grand Opera production. Joyce DiDonato as Meg and Stephanie Novacek as Jo, singing some of the work's show-case arias ("Things Change, Jo", "Unbake the Bread", and "Perfect As We Are") amply demonstrate why they are among the fast rising stars in American opera today.
The stage set was cleverly designed by Christopher McCollum - where else does Jo's attic-ful of memories come alive but in the attic of the March house, with one sister stepping out of an old trunk as another walks out of a closet - the transitions between flashback scenes a masterly exercise in seamlessness.
The opera was commisioned and premiered by Houston Grand Opera in 1998, obviously to great acclaim. As most new operas go, the first set of performances is also usually the last; or they don't see the light of day again until many years later. But not Little Women - in the 3 years since its premiere, it has already entered the repertory of Opera Pacific, Central City Opera, Opera Omaha, and Minnesota Opera; and it will take center stage at Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera in the 2002-03 season. Clearly, Little Women - Louisa May Alcott's novel and Mark Adamo's take on how things change - is well on its way to becoming a timeless piece of American music-theater. And opera is richer with the addition of this new "sister-act*" to the repertoire.
*Can you name other sister-acts in today's operatic repertoire?
