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FULL THE SISTERS (Nicolas Flagello) New York 2007 Susan Lochner, Bridget Best, Antonina Ermolenko, Nicholas Tamagna
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: THE SISTERS
- Composer: Flagello Nicolas
- Libretto: Dean Mundy Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College Opera Theatre, New York City
- Recorded: 2007
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Susan Lochner, Bridget Best, Antonina Ermolenko, Nicholas Tamagna, Peter Clark
- Conductor: Nichols G.M.Ross
- Orchestra: Hunter College Opera Theatre
- Chorus: Hunter College Opera Theatre
- Stage Director: Susan Gonzales
- Costume Designer:
- Lighting Designer: Matt Berman
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Susan Gonzales
- Date Published: 2014
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 3 Audio:3
- Subtitles: nosubs
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The Sisters, composed in 1958, was Flagello’s third opera. A one-act melodrama in two scenes separated by an orchestral interlude, The Sisters is based on an original libretto by Dean Mundy. Set in ‘‘a town off the coast of Massachusetts,’’ the opera depicts the jealousy and hatred that pervade a family of three sisters, two of whom are in love with the same man, and their brutal, controlling father who will not tolerate any disobedience from his daughters. The characters are archetypes of melodrama: the sweet, innocent sister, the vicious, jealous sister, and the maternal, protective sister; the dashing, virile hero, and the cruel, tyrannically possessive father. Their behavior follows a disastrous course that ends as one of the daughters forces her sister off a cliff to her death.
The musical language of The Sisters veers between warm, ardent lyricism during tender, amorous moments, and more angular, irregular, dissonant passages when the father and the evil daughter are portrayed. The entire work is thoroughly integrated around a few short motifs. There is a poignant trio, a voluptuous love-duet, and several other lovely lyrical moments, as well as some solemn evocations of mood, such as the ‘‘Interludio’’ that separates the two scenes. (This “Interludio,” incidentally, has just been released on a new recording on the Artek label.)
The Sisters was first presented by the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater in February, 1961, with the composer conducting and his brother Ezio (then a world-famous operatic bass-baritone) in the role of the father. Reviewing that performance for the New York Herald Tribune, John Gruen described the opera as “first rate,” adding, “Mr. Flagello has the gift of writing gratefully for the voice, and his music has melodic sumptuousness. His orchestral texture is crystal-clear, and he knows how to underline dramatic events.” Tonight’s production is the opera’s first since the premiere 46 years ago.