Our Town (opera)

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Our Town-a three act opera by composer Ned Rorem and librettist J. D. McClatchy. It is the first opera to be adapted from the Thorton Wilder play of the same name. Written as sung-through with sparse dialogue.

Commissioned by : Indiana University, Opera Boston, the Aspen Music Festival and School, North Carolina School of the Arts, Lake George Opera in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Festival Opera in Walnut Creek, Calif.

It was premiered by Indiana University Opera Theater with student singers and orchestra on February 25, 2006. Its professional debut was at the Lake George Opera on July 1st, 2006. It covers the same ground as the play, dealing with birth, maturity and death. Ned Rorem created pleasant melodies and sparseness to maintain the feel of the original production. As with the play, the opera calls for no sets, bare stage, and limited props.