THREE DECEMBERS (2008)

ABOUT THREE DECEMBERS

Three Decembers is a 90-minute opera in one act by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, based on Terrence McNally’s original script Some Christmas Letters.
 

The opera is composed for three singers (soprano, mezzo-soprano and baritone) with 11 instrumentalists: oboe/English Horn, clarinet/bass clarinet, sax/flute, 2 pianos, percussion, 3 violins, 1 cello, 1 bass. Three Decembers was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera and co-commissioned by the San Francisco Opera in association with Cal Performances at UC Berkeley.

The first performance was Feb 29, 2008 in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center in Houston.

 

The opera tells the story of a famous stage actress – Madeline Mitchell (mezzo-soprano) – and her two adult children: Beatrice (soprano) and Charlie (baritone). The drama takes place over three decades of the AIDS crisis (1986, 1996 and 2006), each section recalling the events of a December as the characters struggle to connect when family secrets are revealed.
 

The opera was recorded live at the 2008 premiere, and then revised. The final work has not yet been recorded.

 

Several arias and a duet from the opera are available in the “here/after” song collections at billholabmusic.com.
 
 

ORCHESTRATION
Eleven instrumentalists: oboe/English Horn, clarinet/bass clarinet, sax/flute, two pianos, percussion, 3 violins, 1 cello, 1 bass

 

PRODUCTION COMPANIES

1. World Premiere: Cullen Theatre at the Wortham Center, Houston, TX. (Feb 2008)

2. San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances at UC Berkeley featuring the original cast. (Dec 2008)

3. Chicago Opera Theater (May 2010)

4. Central City Opera, new production (July 2010)

5. University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles (Nov 2010)

6. Boston University (Oct 2011)

(productions continue, below)
 

Upcoming & Past Performances since 2012

Nov 7 - 11 2012	BMI Composer-In-Residence at Vanderbilt University during the opera department’s production of Three Decembers (Nov 9 & 11); Amy Jarman is Madeline Mitchell; Gayle Shay directs and Robin Fountain conducts; at the Blair School of Music, Ingram Hall, Nashville, TN. Type: Three Decembers
May 24 - 25 2013	Three Decembers at Florida State Opera. Type: Three Decembers
Oct 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 2013	European premiere of Three Decembers at Opera in Knopfloch, Zurich, Switzerland; Rosina Zoppi (Maddy), Jeannine Hirzel (Bea), Niklaus Kost (Charlie); conducted by Charl de Villiers; directed by Matthias Fluckiger. Type: Three Decembers
Sept 27, 28, Oct 3, 4 2014 ARLINGTON	Three Decembers at Urban Arias, Arlington VA, with Janice Hall (Madeline Mitchell), Emily Pulley (Beatrice) and Michael Mayes (Charlie); conducted by Robert Wood, directed by Michael McConnell. More Perf. Info. Urban Arias Type: Three Decembers
Dec 5, 6, 7 2014 INDIANOLA	Three Decembers at Des Moines Metro Opera, Des Moines, IA. Cast TBA; directed by Kristine McIntyre. More Perf. Info. Des Moines Metro Opera Type: Three Decembers
May 29 - 31 2015 ATLANTA	Three Decembers in a new production at the Atlanta Opera with mezzo-soprano Theodora Hanslowe (Madeline Mitchell), soprano Jennifer Black (Beatrice), baritone Jesse Blumberg (Charlie); directed by Emma Griffin. Alliance Theater, Atlanta, GA More Perf. Info. The Atlanta Opera Type: Three Decembers
Nov. 13, 15 2015 LOUISVILLE	Three Decembers at Kentucky Opera in Louisville, starring Denyce Graves (Madeline Mitchell), Nicole Joseph (Bea) and Carlton Ford (Charlie); conducted by Kostis Protopapas, directed by William Florescu. Kentucky Opera Type: Three Decembers
Feb 26, 28 2016 AUSTIN	Three Decembers and At The Statue of Venus at the Butler School of Music UT Austin in the McCullough Theatre. Conductor Kelly Kuo leads the New Music Ensemble in new productions by Robert DeSimone (Three Decembers) and Jessica Burton (At The Statue of Venus). Butler School of Music, University of Texas Type: Three Decembers
March 11, 13, 16, 18, 20 2016 MILWAUKEE	Three Decembers at Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, starring Lucy Schaufer (Madeline Mitchell), Rena Harms (Bea), and Keith Phares (Charlie); conducted by Joseph Rescigno, directed by William Florescu. More Perf. Info. Florentine Opera Type: Three Decembers
Dec 2 & 4 2016 FAYETTEVILLE	Three Decembers at Opera Fayetteville, University of Arkansas. Cast includes Cabiria Jacobsen (Madeline), Erin Brittain (Beatrice) and Jacob Scharfman (Charlie). Directed by Jennifer Williams, conducted by Christopher Frisco. More Perf. Info. Fayetteville Opera Type: Three Decembers
Jan 20 & 22 2017 BIRMINGHAM	Three Decembers at Opera Birmingham in the Red Mountain Theatre Cabaret. More Perf. Info. Opera Birmingham Type: Three Decembers
Mar 24, 25, 26, 29, 31, Apr 1 2017 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS	The original cast of Three Decembers is reunited by Hawaii Opera Theater for performances on four islands: Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai and Maui. Starring Frederica von Stade (Madeline), Kristin Clayton (Bea), and Keith Phares (Charlie), conducted by Adam Turner. More Perf. Info. Hawaii Opera Type: Three Decembers
Apr 1 & 8 2017 MEMPHIS	Three Decembers at Opera Memphis in a new production by Ned Canty, conducted by Michael Sakir, with Phyllis Pancella (Madeline) and Jarrett Ott (Charlie) and Cree Carrico (Beatrice). More Perf. Info. Opera Memphis Type: Three Decembers
Add Add to Google Calendar Download iCal May 11 - 13 2018 OKLAHOMA CITY	Three Decembers at Painted Sky Opera in Oklahoma City. Featuring Catherine McDaniel (Madeline), Allison Nicholas (Beatrice), Andre Chiang (Charlie); conducted by Jan McDaniel and directed by Rob Glaubitz. More Perf. Info. Painted Sky Opera Type: Three Decembers

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RECORDING

 

There is a complete recording of the World Premiere of Three Decembers at Houston Grand Opera on Albany Records.

PRODUCTION REVIEWS

THREE DECEMBERS (formely LAST ACTS) PRODUCTION REVIEWS

OPERA TODAY, Wes Blomster (July 12, 2010)

Three Decembers is a modern masterpiece, and it documents the
unusually intense collaboration between Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, his
partner also in Moby-Dick. It is a triumph for Central City…

…Heggie’s voice remains his own – closer here to Broadway than
the Met. That, however, is of little concern. It is music that speaks to the
heart; it provokes feeling and demands emotional reaction. He is clearly
America’s No. 1 opera composer.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, John von Rhein (May 10, 2010)

Three Decembers may be closer in letter and spirit to a
musical comedy than it is to opera, but what of that? It’s sharp and witty and
poignant, and it gave Chicago Opera Theater an engaging crowd-pleaser with which
to wrap up its spring season…

Heggie has provided smart, simple, accessible music to flesh
out he characters’ tangled emotions, with long stretches of
instrumentally-driven parlando giving way to tender lyrical episodes. The score
reminds you how achingly expressive a simple song can be. Heggie loves the
singing voice and he writes beautifully for singers, which is more than can be
said, alas, for many contemporary composers.

DENVER POST, Kyle MacMillan (July 13, 2010)

Like earlier works by Heggie, such as Dead Man Walking, the
music here is tuneful and expressive, with his usual affinity for the human
voice. But the composer’s complex uncompromising language gives the score
backbone and never allows it to sink into sentimentalism.

 

OPERA NEWS, Mark Thomas Ketterson (May 8, 2010)

…the opera provides a vastly rewarding evening of music drama
and aptly demonstrates a raison d’etre for Heggie’s viability as an opera
composer: his music is primarily character-driven. Time and again, we are
aurally reminded of someone’s affective experience… Heggie’s people move us
because they have musical souls.

 

OPERA ONLINE.US, R. Todd Shuman (May 8, 2010)

Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer have created a first-rate modern
American work that proves that the new American opera is alive and well…

 

CHICAGOCRITIC.COM, Tom Williams (May 10, 2010)

It is so lovely to come across a new, vibrant modern chamber
opera that both enchants and soothes. So is the case with Jake Heggie’s Chicago
premiere of Three Decembers…the finest modern opera I’ve seen. Who said that no
one is writing enchantingly wonderful new operas? See Jake Heggie’s marvelous
new work, it’ll dazzle you. The opening night audience gave Three Decembers a
roaring standing ovation. It sure deserved it. Add Three Decembers to your list
of “must see” operas.

 

ARTS HOUSTON MAGAZINE, John DeMers

“… it’s hard to imagine any work in recent years that has
filled us with so much hope for the survival of the art form. Heggie, you see,
is willing and able to grapple with opera as musical theater, as he did
triumphantly in Dead Man Walking… With Last Acts, he not only
returned to straightforward (and deep) human emotions but perhaps pointed to
ways opera itself might find and delight a new audience…he kept the cast small
[and] kept the orchestra for Last Acts tiny as well, and even played one
of the two pianos himself, with a dexterity and sensitivity that recalled those
scratchy recordings of Gershwin playing his stuff. The libretto by Gene Scheer
is lovely: funny, sad, candid, painful, and sporting a few modern expletives
that (humorously) never showed up on the HGO surtitles … The ensemble pieces for
two or even all three singers are heartbreaking in their lilting harmonies. Most
sounded like lullabies written to sing angels to sleep, with extraordinary
orchestrations to match, and they were sung as such by von Stade with lyric
baritone Keith Phares, making his HGO debut as son Charlie, and soprano Kristin
Clayton as troubled daughter Beatrice. Last Acts is intimate,
thought-provoking, clearly heartfelt by all concerned and touching from
beginning to end”

OPERA TODAY, James Sohre

“Keith Phares [Charlie] delivered a powerfully affecting,
high-flying solo without a trace of self-pity, and joined Kristin Clayton
[Beatrice] at act’s end for a deeply moving, beautifully sung duet about the
memory of their father. This was moving stuff, and arguably one of the high
points in a score filled with pleasures … Act Two gives way to Beatrice’s demons
and Ms. Clayton is up to the challenge, with a bountiful lyric voice and spot-on
projection throughout the range … Any opera featuring the luminous mezzo
Frederica von Stade (“Madeline Mitchell”) at its center already has a lot going
for it. The good news is that she is not only still a classy, beautiful,
consummate artist, but she is also singing very very well … And our composer has
given her some wonderful musical moments that play to all her interpretive
strengths. She charms, she rants, she belts, she caresses, she provokes, she
soothes, and she pours out phrase after phrase of plangent sound … The music was
typically tuneful, dramatic Heggie. In addition to the afore-mentioned set
pieces, there were several hauntingly lovely motifs that caught the ear. Mme.
von Stade had a wonderful scena when she reveals all about dad, and there were
two sinuously intertwining trios that were achingly beautiful. Each character
had a telling, well-considered monologue. And our composer sure knows how to
deliver comedic punch lines with well-paced set-up and accurate pay-offs.
[Director Leonard Foglia] placed the chamber orchestra on stage at the top level
of some stepped platforms, making good, varied use of this playing space, to
include raising and lowering actors and set pieces on the hydraulic pit apron.
But it was not just flash and dazzle and sleight of hand from our director. Add
to the above an unerring sense of communicating character relationships, and a
clarity in relating the story line, resulting in our being treated to some
uncommonly fine acting.”

 

OPÉRA MAGAZINE (FRANCE), Thierry Guyenne

“Conceived and written for Frederica von Stade, the principal
role of Madeline is admirably created for her. In great form and invested 200%
in the work, the American mezzo delivered, at more than 62 years old, a
performance overflowing with charm, chic and emotion. The music has the merit of
being eminently singable with an immediate melodic charm. The orchestration is
enveloping, with beautiful moments as in Charlie’s second act monologue, with a
declamation approaching Britten, or the air – which becomes a duo – in which
Beatrice brings up the memory of the father who disappeared, or even the savvy
musical comedy piece that launches Madeline …. Baritone Keith Phares and soprano
Kristin Clayton were perfect.”
 

OPERA NOW, Wes Blomster

“Heggie pays homage to the legendary mezzo [Frederica von
Stade] in his latest work, Last Acts, a two-hour exploration of a sorely
dysfunctional family, begun as Some Christmas Letters, a 1999 play by Terrence
McNally… When Heggie is on stage there’s no Capriccio-style clamour about words
versus music. He’s a setter of words, a composer first of songs, then of operas
and musical scenes in which the text comes first. The new score is smooth and
flows without huge ups and downs; an occasional nudge of dissonance might have
made listeners more aware of the finely-wrought music they were hearing. Heggie
makes it too easy, drawing them into the story with a refined sense of theatre
and allowing them to overlook the sophisticated music he has written … In the
well-balanced score each of the children has a major solo scene. Heggie writes
‘big’ music, even when composing for chamber forces. Last Acts is lush
and listenable, warm and warming; it’s accessible and affirmative in gesture.”