Thomas Pasatieri - One Act Operas

Flowers of Ice
(1964)
Opera in one act; libretto by Ronald Rogers
Unperformed

The Women
(1965)
Opera in one act; libretto by the composer based on an original story

Premiere
August 20, 1965, Aspen Festival, Colorado. Notable productions: The Juilliard School, March 16, 1966

Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Madeleine Milhaud, director

Synopsis
A powerful surrealist study between a man, his wife and his mother. By placing the opera in the “afterlife” the composer-librettist stresses with utmost simplicity the eternal nature of the conflict.

La Divina [purchase]
(1965)
Opera buffa in one act; libretto by the composer

Premiere
March 16, 1966, The Juilliard School, New York

Allan Lewis, conductor
Christopher West, director

Synopsis
The opera opens in the dressing room of an aging coloratura soprano on the evening of her farewell concert. Her maid and manager are their reminiscing. They are concerned because she is late. Finally the diva arrives; but she is traumatized because she had a fight with the conductor at the rehearsal. When she attempts to put on her gown she finds that it no longer fits. She sends the maid to get another gown and banishes the manager. Alone, she sings a monologue in which she wonders what the world will be like without singing. She ends on an upbeat note though: she will go out in a blaze of glory tonight. The maid returns with another gown. The conductor arrives and they reprise their argument over the score, about the trombones in her aria, about the length of the high notes. The conductor acquiesces and finally she is ready to go on stage. During the concert, the maid narrates what she is hearing on stage. The performance ends. The diva returns to her dressing room on the conductor’s arm. The performance was a triumph and the bravos continue. The diva goes to the window to address her fans. She tells them that as a gift for their admiration, she will sing one more performance!

Padrevia
(1966)
Opera in one act; libretto by the composer based on a story from the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio

Karoly Kope, conductor and director

Synopsis
Through the eyes of a present-day narrator, we are introduced to the ruins of the domain once known as Padrevia. Here, a castle was built by King Tancred for his beautiful daughter, Gismonda, where he expected that she would live in isolation from the world and be protected from it—perhaps, really, that he would share her with no one else.

Isolation becomes loneliness for the young princess, however, until by chance she meets a young gardener, Guiscardo, recently hired to work at the court. He awakens her to the possibilities of a life lived with love and without loneliness. They meet secretly, fearing Tancred’s reaction if he discovers this. Unaware that the kind is suspicious of them, the lovers one night steal into Gismonda’s bedchamber and consummate their love. The enraged Tancred storms in, calls the guards and has Guiscardo thrown into prison.

In spite of Gismonda’s pleas to her father, Guiscardo is killed. His heart, torn from his body, is delivered to Gismonda in a golden chalice. The horrified Gismonda pours poison that she had obtained from Guiscardo into the chalice and drinks it. Tancred discovers her, dying, and kisses her with the passion he repressed while she lived.

Calvary
(1971)
Chamber opera in one act; libretto by the composer, based on the play by William Butler Yeats

Premiere
April 7, 1971, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Seattle, WA. Notable productions: Texas Opera Theater (Houston, 1974).

Henry Holt, conductor
Robert DeSimone, director

Synopsis
Calvary is the story of Jesus on his way to the cross and of the people he meets along the way. They ask age-old questions and are filled with terror of the crucifixion. Jesus meets Lazarus, who wonders why Jesus has dragged him from the peace of death to search for meaning, and Judas, who complains that he was predestined and compelled by God to be the betrayer and yet must be condemned for his act.

Signor Deluso [purchase]
(1974)
Opera buffa in one act; libretto by the composer after Moliére’s Sganarelle

Premiere
July 27, 1974, Vienna, VA. Notable productions: Manhattan Theatre Club (1974), The Juilliard School (1979).

John Moriarty, conductor
David Bartholomew, director

Synopsis
Célie is in love with Léon but has been forced by her father to marry the wealthy Valére. A comedy of errors results when Célie faints on the town square and is helped by Signor Deluso. Clara, Deluso's wife sees him holding Célie and concludes he is being unfaithful. When Deluso sees Clara looking at a picture of Léon in a locket dropped by Célie, he makes the same assumption. Soon the couples all suspect their true loves are involved in affairs with others. Accusations and insults intensify until Célie's maid arrives to sort through the confusion.

Before Breakfast
(1980)
Opera in 1 act; libretto by Frank Corsaro, based on the play by Eugene O’Neill. Revised 2006.

Imre Pallo, conductor
Frank Corsaro, director
Zoya Leporska, choreographer
Lloyd Evans, set and costume designer
Gilbert V. Helmsley, Jr., lighting designer

Synopsis
A lonely alcoholic addresses her off-stage husband while she prepares breakfast and in so doing we learn of the dreams she envisioned for her life and the disappointments that ultimately filled it.

The Goose Girl
(1981)
Children’s opera in 1 act; libretto by the composer, based on a story by J.L. and W.C. Grimm

Rudolf Kruger, conductor
Patrick Bakman, stage director
Stephen Yardley, set designer

Synopsis
Once upon a time, a beautiful princess sets out to marry a handsome prince in another country. On the journey, however, her waiting woman steals the magic handkerchief given to the princess by her mother, the Queen, and forces the princess to change places with her. Upon arrival, the phony princess demands that the magical horse which brought them be killed (lest he tell) and that the princess, now a servant, be put to work. The horse, named Fallada, is killed and the real princess was sent to tend the geese.

In the meadow, the goose boy, Conrad, introduces the new goose girl to the geese and demands a kiss. His hat is blown off just in time, however, and while he chases it, the princess and Fallada discuss their predicament (magical horses never die completely, you know). The prince’s father, the King, overhears them talking (this magical horse can talk, too) and realizes what had happened. He then reveals the truth, punishes the waiting woman, and restores the princess. The princess then uses the magic handkerchief to save Fallada and bring her mother to her marriage to the handsome prince, and they all lived happily ever after.

Maria Elena
(1983)
Opera in 1 act; libretto by the composer based on a true story

Premiere
April 6, 1983, University of Arizona (Tucson) in English and Spanish.

Richard Woitach, conductor
Jerold Siena, director

Synopsis
Maria Elena is a beautiful Mexican woman who falls in love with Gonzalo, a handsome criminal. Together they rob men who fall in love with her. The police trap her and she is sent to prison, where she goes mad. The opera takes place as a flashback. The men who have been in love with her appear to her and she remembers her life.