Three Decembers

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Three Decembers
Opera by Jake Heggie
The opera's composer
Librettist	Gene Scheer
Based on	Some Christmas Letters by Terrence McNally
Premiere	February 29, 2008 (2008-02-29) Houston Grand Opera

Three Decembers is a chamber opera in two acts by Jake Heggie to a libretto by Gene Scheer which is based on the unpublished play Some Christmas Letters by Terrence McNally. Created with a role for Frederica von Stade, the work premiered on 29 February 2008 at the Houston Grand Opera (HGO). It commissioned the work in association with the San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances.

The opera was first presented under the working title Last Acts at the world premiere by the Houston Grand Opera. The premiere production was directed by Leonard Foglia with lighting designed by Brian Nason and costumes by Cesar Galindo. The ten-instrument chamber orchestra included two pianos played by Heggie himself as well as Patrick Summers, who also conducted the performance.^[1]^[2]

Synopsis

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The three parts of the opera are set in the month of December in the years 1986, 1996 and 2006 and it tells the story of a famous actress, Madeline, and her two adult children as they struggle to know and love each other.^[1] "It is the universal story about the family we wish for and the family we wind up with."^[3]

Roles

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Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 29 February 2008^[4] Conductor: Patrick Summers
Madeline (Maddie), a famous actress	mezzo-soprano	Frederica von Stade
Charlie, Madeline's son	baritone	Keith Phares
Beatrice (Bea), Madeline's daughter	soprano	Kristin Clayton

References

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^ ^a ^b Sohre, James (March 17, 2008). "Heggie's "Last Acts"". Opera Today. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
^ Sigman, Matthew (July 2015). "Composing a Life". Opera News. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
^ University of Pittsburgh OCC (November 18, 2011). "The Three Decembers". Retrieved April 28, 2016.
^ Griffel, Margaret Ross (2012). Operas in English: A Dictionary, p. 267. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810883252

External links

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Blank, Matt (6 March 2008). "Photo Journal: Jake Heggie's Last Acts Premieres at Houston Grand Opera". Playbill. Retrieved 2008-03-31.

v t e Jake Heggie
List of compositions
Opera	Dead Man Walking (2000) The End of the Affair (2004) Three Decembers (2008) Moby-Dick (2010) Great Scott (2015) It’s a Wonderful Life (2016)
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