Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Gordon: The Grapes of Wrath

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

For opera programming on WWUH this has certainly been the year of Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1952). Today will be the third time in 2015 that I will be broadcasting a recording of one of his operas, not to mention airing various recordings of his many songs.

First, on the Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend, came his Civil War ballad opera Rappahannock County (2011), as produced by Virginia Opera (Naxos CD's). Then, in celebration of Christopher Street Liberation Day I broadcast on the 46th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, Sunday June 28th, what Gordon simply calls 27,setting forth the story of those iconic lesbian lovers Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The world premiere recording of 27 in its 2012 St. Louis Opera premiere production came out on Albany Records.

Out as of 2008 on three PS Classics compact discs is Gordon's operatic take on the famous novel by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath. Michael Korie wrote the libretto: you may remember his name as the librettist for Stewart Wallace's historical/biographical opera Harvey Milk (1997). I broadcast the Telarc CD's of Wallace's work as special gay pride programming on Sunday, June 20, 1999.

PS Classics offers us the audio part of the 2007 Minnesota Opera production of The Grapes of Wrath. It was recorded live in performance at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Grant Gershon conducts the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and Chorus. The large singing cast includes Met veteran mezzo Rosalind Elias and baritone Robert Orth, who took the title role in Harvey Milk. This lyric theatrical treatment of Steinbeck's book makes perfect listening on the Sunday of the Labor Day holiday weekend.