Adamo: A Brilliantly Crafted Work

1st May 2007

Since its 1998 world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera, Mark Adamo's beloved Little Women has conquered the stage with an unprecedented 40-plus distinct runs stateside in less than 10 years, performances in Japan and Mexico, a national PBS Great Performances telecast, and an international CD-release on Ondine Records. This month, composer and opera travel down under to Adelaide for the Australian premiere performances with the State Opera of South Australia's brand new production opening 19 May. Adam Cook directs the all-Australian cast, and Timothy Sexton conducts the Adelaide Art Orchestra.

"[This] is a brilliantly crafted work," observes Stephen Phillips — the opera company's General Director — regarding Adamo's setting of this enduring American story. "As an opera administrator in Australia, I keep a close watch on new works emanating from America, where many of the world's most successful contemporary operas have been created in recent years. So, the success of Mark Adamo's beautiful opera in Houston, and subsequently in other major centers across the US, made me determined to create a brand new production for its premiere performances in Australia. The opera captures so perfectly the atmosphere of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about the power of family, friendship, and romance in 1860's New England, and one that I'm sure will captivate audiences here."In some ways — mainly, but not only, geographically — Australia couldn’t be further away from the US; in other ways — mainly, but not only, temperamentally — it’s our closest neighbor. I guess that Adelaide’s new Little Women will feel at once like a homecoming and a translation: I can’t wait to see, and hear, how and why.
— Mark Adamo


Little Women   120'
3 S, 3 Mz, T, Bar, 2 B
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