Video: Interview with the Composer and Librettist.
Video: Complete 20-minute opera, conducted by the Composer.
“Mr. Pew’s score—mirabile dictu—soars into a beautiful, Romantic vocal triptych. It was stunning. The audience greeted the singers, the musicians, and above all the composer-librettist team with a vigorous and appreciative round of applause. They noticed this little bit of magic, too.”
A Game Of Hearts
An Opera in one-act. Piano-Vocal Score. BSM0029a.
Libretto by Dara Weinberg
Duration: 20:00
Commissioned by Washington National Opera at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Premiered by the WNO, Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists at the Kennedy Center.
Conductor, Anne Manson.
Description
March 2001. Jean Bierbaum moves into Sunset Terrace, where her sister Sylvia and Sylvia's friend Harriet live. Dr. Vergara accidentally calls Jean "Mrs. Bierbaum." Jean sings about her fiance, who died in WWII. She has never married. Sylvia and Harriet also sing about their experiences during WWII. Another resident, Jerry Rosenberg, whose wife is dying, enters and sings a song about his longing to see Poland again. His wife's illness prevents him from traveling. Jerry sympathizes with Jean's situation--he too is in love with someone who is unreachable. They sing a duet together. Jean begins to develop an interest in Jerry.
“Douglas Pew and Dara Weinberg succeeded beautifully with a moving, touching, funny and meaningful piece called ‘A Game of Hearts’. Not only did the opera work as theater with Dara’s excellent libretto, Doug went to the root of the emotional world of the opera and wrote music that illuminated the characters and situation with a showman’s touch and poet’s soul. He let it take flight.”
