Login      
A Water Bird Talk
PREMIERE5/20/1977 — Brooklyn Academy of Music
COMPOSERDominick Argento   
LIBRETTISTDominick Argento   
 
Synopsis
A Water Bird Talk is set at a podium at a provincial club meeting in Maryland in the late 19th century. A gentleman lecturer addresses a ladies' club on the subject of water birds. His descriptions of the birds' peculiar habits come to act as metaphors for his own horribly henpecked life. Parallels are drawn between the gentleman's life and the birds he discusses: for example, the cormorant—whose young never leave the nest; the male phalarope—a domestically-inclined bird who remains in the nest while the female flits about; the puffin—who, once mated, remains mated for life; and the grebe—a gentle bird that is preyed upon by many enemies; it sinks out of sight when confronted by a threat. The lecturer illustrates his talk with tinted magic-lantern slides derived from J.J. Audubon's The Birds of America. At the beginning of the lecture his wife reacts in the wings by coughing and clearing her throat. Disgusted with his talk, she soon leaves, and the lecturer digresses, gradually revealing that his miserable existence is due to an overbearing, domineering wife and daughters who constantly make fun of him.
MOST PRODUCED SINCE 2000
RANKTITLEPRODUCTIONS
438A Water Bird Talk2
438A Distant Love: Songs of John and Abigail Adams2
438A Florentine Tragedy2
438A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder2
438A Month in the Country2
438A Water Bird Talk2
This work ranks as the #195 most produced North American title since 2000.
Don’t see your company’s next performance?
Join OPERA America as an Organizational Member to post your productions to the National Opera Calendar and Performance Database. Learn more.

 
STORED ADMIN COOKIE *
actor id: 0
name:
company:
email
ind id: 0
memb level: 0
expiration date: 12:00:00 AM
current url: /Applications/schedule/details.aspx
Login As
* Visible only to OPERA America Administrators for testing purposes. Shows security cookie contents.
 
 
————
National Opera Center
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001
212.796.8620   •   Info@operamerica.com
CONNECT WITH US
                 

PARTNERS
 
Terms of Service   •   Privacy Policy   •   Copyright Policy   © Copyright 1995–2024 OPERA America Inc.