A Hand of Bridge
Music by Samuel Barber
Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti
The first production of the Moores Opera Center Film Series, this 9-minute miniature opera follows a weekly bridge game in which two married couples put their real cards on the table as they reveal their innermost thoughts.
- Musical Narrative in Three American One -Act Operas with Libretti by Gian Carlo Menotti: “A Hand of Bridge”, “The Telephone”, and “Introductions and Good -Byes.”The current study considers the interaction between the musical narrative and the dramatic narrative (provided by the libretti) in three one-act operas: Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge (1959), Menotti's The Telephone (1947), and Lukas Foss' Introductions and Good-Byes (1959). The interpretive product of these two narratives, which I refer to as “operatic narrative,” will provide a rich and exhaustive interpretation of the opera that goes far beyond the understanding provided by consideration of the individual components. The main objective for the interpretations of these operas is the identification of a musical narrative that is supported by music analysis. This study examines how three different composers construct music that in turn expresses the libretto's dramatic action. In A Hand of Bridge bifurcated tonality—setting a line with an accompaniment in a distinctly different key—allows Barber to represent multiple psychological levels of characters.
- A Hand of Bridge: For Four Solo Voices and Chamber Orchestra.Vocal scores with piano
- The Mini-Opera Concept: A Study of Short Works in the Opera Repertory and Their Viability in an Educational Forum.The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the merit of mini-operas as a tool for pedagogic study
- A Hand of BridgeOp. 35
Craigie, Lesley - soprano
Williams, Roderick - bass
Winter, Louise - mezzo-soprano
Wall, Simon - tenor
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Alsop, Marin - Conductor