To Hell and Back • 2006
Libretto by Gene Scheer
Opera in one act
World Premiere: November 2, 2006
Commissioned by Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Duration: 30’
Resources
Overview
Instrumentation
Performances
Press Coverage
Recordings
Scores
Commissioned to celebrate Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s 25th season and the 20th anniversary of music director Nicholas McGegan
About
The plot of To Hell and Back is based on the Greco-Roman myth of Persephone, the goddess of spring, who was abducted to the underworld by the god Pluto and must spend half the year (the winter) with him there. Scheer has based his text on the story as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
“Heggie has given the score some of his most arresting orchestral writing … And, as always, Heggie writes beautifully for the voice.”
Premiere Cast & Creative Team
Conductor: Nicholas McGegan
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Stephanie: Isabel Bayrakdarian
Anne: Patti LuPone
Composed with generous grants from The Creative Work Fund, the Fleishacker Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.