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Navona

Thompson: Mask in the Mirror / Tucker, The Sanaa Opera Project

$21.99

Details

Composer
THOMPSON, RICHARD
Artist
The Sanaa Opera Project, Tucker
Format
CD
Label
Navona
Released
Feb 08, 2019
Catalog #
NV6209
UPC
896931005098

About

Composer Richard Thompson’s three-act opera presents the life behind the name of Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the most prominent African American poets of the early 20th Century. This dramatic performance, inspired by the hundreds of letters exchanged between Dunbar and his wife, Alice Ruth Moore, removes the masks of fame and social identity to investigate the psychological realities of the people underneath. Driven by pivotal moments in the poet’s life, the chamber opera follows the arc of Paul and Alice’s relationship, from their courtship through letters, secret engagement and marriage, to their final estrangement and Paul’s death from alcoholism and tuberculosis at age 33. Throughout these moments, the audience gets a look behind the known storyline into the psychological challenges occurring beneath the surface for both Paul and Alice. Both characters grappled with the fact that they came from troubled relational backgrounds filled with abuse and apathy — much of which was translated into their own marriage. In addition, both struggled with their racial identity in a culture that generally judged and discriminated before it sought to understand. The dramatic tension of their personal relationship and story, fused with the broader questions surrounding identity, appearance versus reality, and grappling with the person in the mirror, makes this a moving story on the operatic stage. Captivating, challenging, and compelling, The Mask In The Mirror is a necessary look into fame and identity as seen through this hero of African American poetry.

Tracklist 14 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Prologue 05:13
    Track
    1
    Title
    Prologue
    Duration
    05:13
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  3. 2 Act I Scene 1: Paul at home in Dayton, Ohio (Paul, Alice) 10:16
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act I Scene 1: Paul at home in Dayton, Ohio (Paul, Alice)
    Duration
    10:16
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Angela L. Owens, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  4. 3 Act I Scene 2: Dean Howells, literary critic, at his gentleman's club (Howells, Paul) 11:12
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act I Scene 2: Dean Howells, literary critic, at his gentleman's club (Howells, Paul)
    Duration
    11:12
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, John Polhamus, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  5. 4 Act I Scene 3: Victoria's farewell party for Paul, at her home in Brooklyn (Victoria, Paul, Alice) 09:27
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act I Scene 3: Victoria's farewell party for Paul, at her home in Brooklyn (Victoria, Paul, Alice)
    Duration
    09:27
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  6. 5 Act I Scene 4: Alice with her mother, Patsy Moore, at their home in New Orleans (Alice, Patsy) 06:21
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act I Scene 4: Alice with her mother, Patsy Moore, at their home in New Orleans (Alice, Patsy)
    Duration
    06:21
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Angela L. Owens, Lindsay Patterson, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  7. 6 Act I Scene 5: In the office of Ms. Lyons, the new headmistress of a Brooklyn school (Alice, Ms. Lyons) 08:23
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act I Scene 5: In the office of Ms. Lyons, the new headmistress of a Brooklyn school (Alice, Ms. Lyons)
    Duration
    08:23
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Angela L. Owens, Lindsay Patterson, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  8. 7 Act I Scene 6: Paul at his London apartment with his friend Sarah (Paul, Sarah) 11:37
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act I Scene 6: Paul at his London apartment with his friend Sarah (Paul, Sarah)
    Duration
    11:37
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Natalie Mann, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  9. Disc 2
  10. 1 Act II Scene 1: Paul at a poetry reading in New York (Paul, Alice, Sales Representative) 06:10
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act II Scene 1: Paul at a poetry reading in New York (Paul, Alice, Sales Representative)
    Duration
    06:10
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Angela L. Owens, Roland Mills, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  11. 2 Act II Scene 2: Paul in a Harlem bar (Paul, Drinking Buddy, Woman in the Bar) 09:02
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act II Scene 2: Paul in a Harlem bar (Paul, Drinking Buddy, Woman in the Bar)
    Duration
    09:02
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  12. 3 Act II Scene 3: Paul and Alice at their friend Sally's apartment in Brooklyn (Paul, Alice) 11:20
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act II Scene 3: Paul and Alice at their friend Sally's apartment in Brooklyn (Paul, Alice)
    Duration
    11:20
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Angela L. Owens, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  13. 4 Act II Scene 4: Paul at home in Washington D.C. (Paul, Alice) 13:50
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act II Scene 4: Paul at home in Washington D.C. (Paul, Alice)
    Duration
    13:50
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Angela L. Owens, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  14. 5 Act III Scene 2: Paul, Alice, and Mathilde Dunbar at their home in Washington D.C. (Paul, Alice, Mathilde) 12:45
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act III Scene 2: Paul, Alice, and Mathilde Dunbar at their home in Washington D.C. (Paul, Alice, Mathilde)
    Duration
    12:45
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Angela L. Owens, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  15. 6 Act III Scene 3: Leila and Patsy Moore at home in New Orleans (Leila) 05:59
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act III Scene 3: Leila and Patsy Moore at home in New Orleans (Leila)
    Duration
    05:59
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Lindsay Patterson, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker
  16. 7 Act III Scene 4: Paul at home in Dayton, Ohio (Paul, Alice) 08:59
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act III Scene 4: Paul at home in Dayton, Ohio (Paul, Alice)
    Duration
    08:59
    Composer
    Richard Thompson
    Performer
    Cameo Humes, Angela L. Owens, Richard C. Thompson
    Conductor
    Stephen Tucker