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Synopsis
Shining Brow, the translation of the Welsh Taliesin, is the name Wright gave his homes in Wisconsin and Arizona. The period of time covered in Shining Brow includes some of the most tumultuous years of Wright's life, from 1903 to 1914. During the work, the scenes shift from the Cliff Dweller's Club in Chicago, where Wright's discarded mentor, Louis Sullivan, appears, to a construction site in Oak Park, to Berlin, and then to Taliesin, where some of the most tragic events of Wright's life occur. The work portrays Wright's relationship with a client, Mamah Cheney, who leaves her husband, Edwin, for the architect. Their affair is further complicated by the fact that Catherine, Wright's wife, refuses to grant him a divorce. Wright visits Sullivan in Chicago, and it is here that he learns that Taliesin has been destroyed by fire. Mamah has been killed, along with six other victims -- three were hatcheted to death by the madman who set the house on fire, Wright's chef, Julian Carleton. The chef is soon found -- his throat burned from drinking hydrochloric acid. As the opera closes, Wright imagines rebuilding Taliesin in Mamah's memory.
Productions
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OPERA America/Opera.ca Grants Awarded
Click here to learn more about OPERA America granting programs.
| GRANT NAME | YEAR | The Opera Fund: Audience Development | 2015 | The Next Stage | 1997 | Opera for a New America | 1991 |
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Title Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
Approximate Runtime (hh:mm)
2:00
Number of Acts
2
Musical Style
Polytonal, use of verbal motifs, colorful orchestration, barbershop quartet, musical quotations and allusions; each main character has his or her own motif, tonal center, and instrumentation. For example: Frank Lloyd Wright is identified by a tritone
Vocal & Musical Forces
Large orchestra; onstage piano, violin, and cello; main characters include: 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, spoken role; chorus
Original Cast
Michael Sokol (Frank Lloyd Wright)
Carolann Page (Mamah Cheney)
Barry Busse (Louis Sullivan)
Kitt Reuter Foss (Catherine Wright)
Bradley Garvin (Edwin Cheney)
Mimmi Fulmer (The Maid)
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