Myra's visitation from the ghost of her 11-year-old son
Music / Libretto
Based on the novel by
and the screenplay by
Conductor
Chorus Master
Musical Preparation
Myra Foster
Mrs. Wintry
Miss Rose
Mr. Bennett
Mr. Cole
Nill Foster
Irish Tenor
Arthur
Stephen Schwartz
Mark McShane
Bryan Forbes
Jeffrey Milarsky
Charles F. Prestinari
Marijo Newman
Lauren Flanigan
Jane Shaulis
Jennifer Zetlan
Theodore Chletsos
James Bobick
Michael Zegarski
Michael Marcotte
Jonathan Makepeace
With members of the New York City Opera Chorus
Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as a producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. . Show more
His first major credit was the title song for the play BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE; the song was eventually used in the movie version as well.
In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for GODSPELL, for which he won several awards including two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts, in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, for Bernstein's MASS, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for PIPPIN and two years later, THE MAGIC SHOW. At one point, GODSPELL, PIPPIN, and THE MAGIC SHOW were all running on Broadway simultaneously.
He next wrote the music and lyrics for THE BAKER'S WIFE, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel's WORKING, to which he contributed four songs, and which he also adapted and directed, winning the Drama Desk Award as best director. He also co-directed the television production, which was presented as part of the PBS "American Playhouse" series.
Next came songs for a one-act musical for children, CAPTAIN LOUIE, and a children's book, THE PERFECT PEACH. He then wrote music for three of the songs in the Off-Broadway revue, PERSONALS, lyrics to Charles Strouse's music for RAGS, and music and lyrics for CHILDREN OF EDEN.
He then began working in film, collaborating with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney animated features POCAHONTAS, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. He also provided songs for DreamWorks' first animated feature, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for which he won another Academy Award for the song "When You Believe".
Mr. Schwartz provided music and lyrics for the original television musical, GEPPETTO, seen on The Wonderful World of Disney. Recently, he released two CDs on which he sings new songs, entitled RELUCTANT PILGRIM and UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
Mr. Schwartz's most recent musical, WICKED, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway.
Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he runs musical theatre workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and serves on the ASCAP board; he is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists' Guild. Show less
I think American opera, like America itself, is a hybrid. It acknowledges and builds on the traditions of European classic opera, but is open to our own cultural contributions – musical theatre, jazz, pop, minimalism, etc. More and more it has the courage to be what each individual composer hears, and leaves it to others to define. What is encouraging to me is that these new (or at least reinvigorated) forms of opera seem to be finding an increasing number of composers wanting to write them and perhaps even better -- audiences wanting to hear them.
Based on the novel by Mark McShane and the award-winning screen adaptation by Bryan Forbes, Séance is a psychological thriller about a medium, Myra Foster, her doting husband Bill, and the spirit of their deceased eleven-year-old son Arthur, who speaks to Myra and is her contact for her séances Show more
Because Myra has never received the recognition she feels her gifts merit, she and Bill hatch a plan: They will kidnap the daughter of a local wealthy industrialist and keep her safe while the media frenzy over her abduction builds. When Myra has a “vision” that leads to the successful recovery of the girl and the ransom, her fame will be assured. As The Plan is put into action, the girl’s presence in the house leads to complex psychological responses from Myra, Bill, and Arthur. The delicate balance of Myra and Bill’s relationship, and Myra’s sanity itself, begins to fray, as long-buried secrets are revealed. The plan goes badly awry, and in Myra’s final séance, the drama comes to a devastating conclusion. Show less
