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Synopsis
A painter, Basil Hallward, shows Lord Wotton the recently completed portrait of Dorian Gray. Dorian, upon seeing the picture, reflects on how sad it will be to grow old in direct contrast to the picture, which will be forever young. Dorian states that he would give his soul if the situation could only be reversed. Lord Wotton befriends Dorian, and Dorian tells him of his love affair with the beautiful young actress Sibyl Vane. After one of Sibyl's performances, in which her acting is horrendous, Dorian, shamed, denounces Sibyl, and she commits suicide. The next day, Dorian notices that the expression on his portrait has changed to one of cruelty. He realizes that the picture has become a reflection of his conscience. He banishes the picture to the attic. Eighteen years later, Dorian shows Basil the portrait in his attic. Upon seeing the picture, Basil realizes Dorian's secret and is greatly horrified. They argue, and Dorian stabs and kills him. In a dockside bar, Dorian is confronted by Sibyl's brother, who threatens revenge. He follows Dorian to a hunting party and is mistakenly killed. Dorian explains to Lord Wotton that he means to reform, but Wotton only laughs. Dorian retreats to the attic. Realizing that there is no going back and that reform is not in his future, Dorian stabs the disfigured, bloody picture. Dorian's scream is heard. A transformation has taken place: The picture is now as it was when originally painted, and Dorian is old and disfigured, with a knife in his heart.
Productions
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OPERA America/Opera.ca Grants Awarded
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| GRANT NAME | YEAR | The Next Stage | 1998 |
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Title Information
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Approximate Runtime (hh:mm)
2:00
Number of Acts
2
Musical Style
Masterful orchestration; tonal; "often reminiscent of film music of the highest quality" (Joel Kasow-Opera)
Vocal & Musical Forces
Three flutes (piccolo), 3 oboes (English horn), 3 clarinets (bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion, harp, celeste, strings; 2 sopranos, 2 tenors, 3 baritones, bass
Original Cast
Jeffrey Lentz (Dorian Gray)
John Hancock (Lord Henry Wotton)
Gregory Reinhart (Basil Hallward)
Korliss Uecker (Sibyl Vane)
Ron Baker (James Vane)
Vivian Tierney (The Whore)
Stephen Chaundy (Lord Geoffrey)
Bryan Jones (Gamekeeper)
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