A Wedding (opera)

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A Wedding is an opera composed by William Bolcom to a libretto by Robert Altman and Arnold Weinstein. It was based on Altman's 1979 film A Wedding.

It was first performed on December 11, 2004 by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which had commissioned the work. The premiere had stage direction by Altman and was conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. The 48 characters in the film have been trimmed down to 19 on stage.

[edit] Roles

-Nettie Sloan- The old-money matriarch— (dies in the second scene)
Her daughters and in-laws include:
-factory owner (daughter) who employs illegal immigrants
-doctor turned art dealer in Pollock, De Kooning, and Kline
-flaky interpretive dancer (Patricia Risley) who loves the family’s butler
- Caribbean butler (Mark Doss)
-emotionally stunted morphine addict (female)
-The groom, a military-academy graduate whose body is finer than his mind.
-The bride, is an ingénue from Louisville, Kentucky, who has no idea what she’s getting into.
-Her Father, a reformed fornicator turned born-again millionaire
-Her mother, a naïve belle who yearns for adventure.
-The groom’s father
-The Father's brother from the old country —together with
-A Communistic aunt
-A hired wedding guest (Male)
-An obsessive-compulsive wedding planner (female)
-The best man, an alcoholic marine