Lost In The Stars: Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal
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WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA OPEN REHEARSAL KURT WEILL’S Lost in the Stars Libretto by Maxwell Anderson Conducted by John DeMain Directed by Tazewell Thompson World War II has ended and South Africa begins to separate white and black communities—with painful and violent results. Are love, faith, and truth enough to bring peace to these divided people? Two fathers search for the answer. David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO. Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars. Cuesheet PERFORMANCE GUIDE
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Merging influences from Broadway, gospel, African spirituals, jazz, and blues, Lost in the Stars tells the story of Stephen Kumalo, a minister in apartheid-era South Africa who travels from his small village to Johannesburg to find his troubled son. Inspired by Alan Paton’s novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, the opera explores themes of struggle, oppression, and redemption. The Open Rehearsal Program introduces middle and high school students to opera by giving them the opportunity to witness firsthand the final rehearsals of Washington National Opera’s main stage productions.
Transcript of Lost In The Stars: Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal
WASHINGTON NATIONAL OpERAopen ReheaRsal
Kurt Weill’s
Lost in the StarsLibretto by Maxwell Anderson Conducted by John DeMain
Directed by Tazewell Thompson
World War II has ended and South Africa begins to separate white and black communities—with painful and violent results. Are love, faith, and truth enough to bring peace to these divided people? Two fathers search for the answer.
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.
Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.
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son Arthur, a patron of Stephen’s church. Though Arthur is friendly, James is distant, as he does not socialize with blacks.
Once in Johannesburg, Stephen visits his troubled sister Gertrude, who grants Stephen custody of her small son Alex. The priest then searches the city (with some help from his brother, John) and discovers that Absalom has fallen into a life of crime. Stephen also learns that his son has a girlfriend who is pregnant.
Elsewhere in Johannesburg, Absalom, his cousin Matthew, and their friend, Johannes, discuss a plot to steal from a local home. Despite warnings from his girlfriend Irina, Absalom agrees to join in the plan in order to provide for his unborn child. Left alone, Irina is confronted by Stephen. The two agree to join forces to help Absalom.
Later, during the robbery, the three accomplices are shocked to discover the house they have chosen is unexpectedly occupied. Absalom accidentally fires a gun and kills the owner, who turns out to be Arthur Jarvis. The citizens of Johannesburg—both black and white—are horrified. The robbers are arrested, and Stephen fears all is “lost.”
About Weill’s
Lost in the Stars
In early 1948, former German citizen and popular Broadway composer Kurt Weill and playwright Maxwell Anderson read a newly-published South African novel entitled Cry, the Beloved Country. Inspired by the book’s themes of struggle, oppression, and redemption, the two men asked the author Alan Paton if they could adapt the story for the stage. Once permission was given, Weill studied Zulu music to give the work an African feel, while Anderson turned Paton’s words into poetic lyrics. The show, with the new title Lost in the Stars, opened on Broadway in October, 1949.
THE STORyAct IIn the late 1940s, Ixopo [pronounced ee-KOH-poh], South Africa is struggling. Though parts of the region are still beautiful and green, its lower hills are dry. Young men and women have abandoned their native villages because they cannot earn a living on the land.
In nearby Ndotsheni (ihn-doht-SHEHN-ee), a black priest named Stephen Kumalo (coo-MAH-loh) and his wife worry that their son Absalom may have hit hard times. Absalom has moved to Johannesburg and hasn’t sent word for a long while. Stephen decides to take a train to the city. At the station, Stephen encounters a white neighbor named James Jarvis and his
Black citizens of South Africa find themselves caught between hope and fear.
ABOUT KURT WEILLGerman-born composer Kurt Weill (1900–1950) was first exposed to music by his father, a Jewish musician. Weill soon expressed his desire to compose
and enjoyed great success in his native country in the 1920s, particularly with The Threepenny Opera and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, both of which were collaborations with playwright Bertolt Brecht. Yet political tensions in Germany finally forced Weill to move to New York, where he and his wife, singer Lotte Lenya, established careers on Broadway.
ABOUT WASHINGTON NATIONAL OpERAOriginally founded in 1956, Washington National Opera (WNO) ranks as one of today’s largest American opera companies. As an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, WNO presents several operas each year at the Kennedy Center Opera House and performs throughout the city, offering training and enrichment programs year-round. In the past decade, WNO has reached worldwide audiences through international broadcasts.
To learn more about opera visit www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge and click the tag “opera”
Main CharaCtersStephen Kumalo, a priest and spiritual leader (bass-baritone)
Absalom Kumalo, their son (speaking role)
James Jarvis, their white neighbor (speaking role)
Arthur Jarvis, his son (speaking role)
Irina, Absalom’s girlfriend (mezzo-soprano)
Alex, Stephen and Grace’s nephew (boy soprano)
Chorus Leader (tenor)
All photos courtesy of KArli cAdel/the GlimmerGlAss festivAl
Act IIFollowing the arrest, Stephen realizes Absalom’s only choices are to “tell a lie and live” (plead innocent and go free) or “speak truth and die” (confess and be executed). Desperate, the priest approaches James Jarvis to ask for help in securing mercy. Jarvis declines.
At the trial, Matthew and Johannes plead their innocence, but Absalom refuses to lie and is sentenced to be hanged. Following the ruling, Stephen marries Irina and Absalom in a small ceremony. Resolving to appeal the case, the priest brings Irina and Alex to his village to wait for news. Once home, Stephen, weary and depressed, announces plans to leave the church. But will his faith be restored? Will the execution be repealed? Most importantly for the future of South Africa: Can the families of Jarvis and Kumalo find a way to reconcile?
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT… n Though the segregation laws known as “apartheid” were
established in South Africa in 1948, Weill and Anderson felt the Cry, the Beloved Country story was universal to all audiences. How do the conflicts on stage remind you of other historic or current events in other countries?
n The creators use a chorus to help set the scene and provide commentary on the action—an old theatrical device dating back to the early Greeks. The chorus even uses words taken directly from the original novel. Do you feel the chorus helps you better understand the performance?
n Weill is known for blending parts of opera with musical theater. For example, some of Weill’s characters simply speak their lines instead of singing them. Can you identify other aspects of the performance that remind you of an opera or that remind you of a musical?
WHAT TO WATCH AND LISTEN FOR…n The unusually small orchestra, which features only 12
musicians and includes instruments you don’t often hear on the operatic stage (for example, a saxophone and accordion), are often used in African American styles like blues and jazz. Weill was interested in creating a sound that would be uniquely connected to the setting and the story. Try to identify the other instruments during the performance.
n The differences between the various sets and costumes. How do the characters’ clothes and surroundings give you clues about their situation?
n Musical moments that make you think of certain objects or emotions. (Hint: flute and percussion for a ticking clock, a harp for Irina’s sorrowful tears.)
Absalom’s love for Irina leads him down a difficult path.
David M. Rubenstein Chairman
Deborah F. Rutter President
Mario R. RosseroSenior Vice President, Education
Michael L. MaelExecutive Director
Francesca ZambelloArtistic Director
WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.
General Dynamics is the Presenting Sponsor of WNO’s 2015-2016 Season.
WNO’s season is presented with the support of Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello.
Support for Lost in the Stars is provided by Anne Kline Pohanka and Geoffrey Pohanka.
This production is also funded in part by The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, Inc. New York, NY.
Events for Students is made possible by Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.
Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.
Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.
www.artsedge.kennedy-center/org
Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.
Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education
The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
© 2016 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
