Described by Opera News as “an important addition to the American operatic canon,” Sister Carrie takes as its themes the lure of money and social standing. Robert Aldridge’s inventive score is richly melodic and unapologetically tonal. Herschel Garfein’s libretto is based on Theodore Dreiser’s groundbreaking 1900 novel, which depicts a small-town girl’s tortuous path to fame and her lover’s abject descent into despair. Aldridge and Garfein’s Elmer Gantry was a two-time Grammy Award winner. Here, the lead roles are played by Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala, baritone Keith Phares, tenor Matt Morgan, and soprano Alisa Suzanne Jordheim.
Aldridge builds skilful ensembles, though they not infrequently evoke musical comedy rather than opera or even musical theatre in effect. Given that the story takes place circa 1900, the idiom is not inappropriate. Garfein's libretto occasionally resorts to cliched construction but it is generally well constructed, with a few scenes taking place at multiple times or locales. Not perhaps a masterwork but Sister Carrie does come over as a worthwhile theatrical experience.
The Florentine Opera Company under William Boggs fields an excellent cast, orchestra and chorus.
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