Traditionally, May brings a caesura for the opera world. Regular seasons are ending, if they have not already, but summer concerts and festivals have not yet begun. The curtain has closed on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s regular season and, in its place, the Lyric will offer Oklahoma!, a work of American musical theatre. Meanwhile in Naperville, an entirely different type of perennial American classic will occur as the curtain closes on a different stage: the graduation of the class of 2013.
This exciting but bittersweet occasion of high school graduation is the subject of American composer Aaron Copland’s opera The Tender Land (1954) which tells the coming-of-age story of Laurie, a Midwestern high school senior. Like many graduates, Laurie is simultaneously enthralled and apprehensive at the prospect of exploring the world beyond her insular hometown. These conflicting emotions are captured in the opera’s most famous aria, “Laurie’s Song”. This is also a common showpiece for undergraduate sopranos.
The opera, which spans less than 48 hours, takes place on a farm during the Great Depression. Copland drew his inspiration from Depression photographs and journalism. The work was originally written for the NBC Opera Theatre, famous for broadcasting the premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. However, the company rejected the broadcast, and it later premiered at the New York City Opera.
Check out the recording of Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, conducted by Copland himself, at the Naperville Public Library.
Also, congratulations to Naperville’s Class of 2013, graduating from Naperville North and Naperville Central on May 20 and from Wabounsie Valley, Neuqua Valley, and Metea Valley on May 26!
