
Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990) - Trouble in Tahiti
Recorded live on: 18th March 2010
Duration: 46 minutes
Credits
Psappha Ensemble
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Trouble in Tahiti
opera in one act - seven scenes
libretto by the composer
UK premiere of reduced orchestration by Garth
Sunderland
Trouble in Tahiti is a brilliant pastiche of pop music and melodrama, showing Leonard Bernstein at his most bitingly ironic, and yet, at the same time, most personal and sincere. Ranging from the jingle-like crooning of the vocal trio to major, show-stopping serio-comic arias for the main characters Sam and Dinah, the music pulls out every pop-cultural 1950s stop, while never losing sight of the genuine pathos of its characters: a couple in a troubled marriage, desperate to find the way back to that 'Quiet Place' of their love for one another.
The reduced orchestration - behind the
scenes
A 45-minute, one-act opera, with a small cast of five and minimal
staging requirements, Trouble in Tahiti - composed in 1952
- is ideal for intimate venues and small companies. But a tricky
obstacle has always been its orchestra - a bare minimum of 26
players (assuming only a string quintet rather than the preferred
full string sections).
In creating this new orchestration, writes Garth Sunderland, I wanted to remain faithful to Bernstein's original intentions and the reduction takes a 'one of each' chamber orchestra approach, with a 15 piece instrumentation. While this orchestration, premiered in 2009, cannot be a true substitute for Bernstein's brilliant original, I hope that it might allow more performers and audiences the chance to experience this hilarious, exuberant melancholy opera.
Trouble in Tahiti - a snapshot
The trio croons about the bliss of suburban life as an
introduction to Sam's and Dinah's angry breakfast conversation. We
then see Sam engaging in questionable dealings at work while Dinah
tells her (unseen) psychiatrist of her frustration with her life
and her longing to escape to a dream garden, a quiet place. She and
Sam accidentally meet on the street and (to their brief regret)
avoid lunching together on the pretext of having prior engagements.
That afternoon Sam gloats about a handball triumph while Dinah goes
to see a film; they both miss their son's school play. Later they
try to discuss their problems but give up and go to a film instead
- the same escapist fantasy of glamorous exotic love that Dinah had
seen earlier in the day, Trouble in Tahiti. The opera was
later incorporated in its entirety by Bernstein into the second act
of his sequel opera, A Quiet Place (1983/4).
Garth Sunderland is a composer and interdisciplinary artist. He is Artistic Director of the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble, and Music Editor for the Leonard Bernstein Office.
BIOGRAPHIES
Jane Harrington soprano
After training as an actress, Jane Harrington graduated from the
Royal Academy of Music. Operatic engagements have included
Morgana/Alcina (OTC), Cupid/Orpheus in the
Underworld (Opera Holland Park), Varvara/Katya
Kabanova (ETO) Little Moon/A Night at the Chinese
Opera (Scottish Opera), Virtue andAmore/L'Incoronazione di
Poppea (ENO), Soprano /'Three Water Plays' by Detlev Glanert
(Almeida Opera), Belinda/Dido and Aneas (ETO), Savitri
(cover)/Savitri and Baroness (cover)/Der
Wildschütz (Buxton Festival). Recent concert engagements
include soprano soloist for Raymond Gubbay's Viennese gala at the
Barbican with LPO, and future highlights include Morgana/
Alcina (OTC) at the Buxton Festival, Lucy/The Beggar's
Opera (Opera Project) and cover Susanna The Marriage of
Figaro (Scottish Opera).
Catherine Hopper Dinah
mezzo-soprano
Catherine Hopper studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the
National Opera Studio. Recent and forthcoming roles include Kitchen
Boy/Rusalka with Opera North' Hänsel for Opera Holland
Park, Popova/The Bear for Mahogany Opera' Lucretia/The
Rape of Lucretia' Ramiro/La Finta Giardiniera,
Mezzo-Actress/A Night at the Chinese Opera'
Zita/Gianni Schicchi and Marta/Yolanta (all for
RAO), Second Lady/Die Zauberflöte at Clonter' Mme.
Larina/Eugene Onegin and Mrs. Herring/Albert
Herring for British Youth Opera. Concerts include Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9 with the RPO and Vaughan Williams's Serenade to
Music at the BBC Proms.
Ashley Catling tenor
Ashley Catling studied at the GSMD and the National Opera Studio.
Performances include Ernesto/Don Pasquale (New Zealand
Opera)' Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni (Opera Zuid)'
Nanki-Poo/The Mikado (Nationale Reisopera)'
Fenton/Falstaff, Apollo/Orfeo' Kudryas/Katya
Kabanova' Giannetto/La Gazza Ladra and Tamino/The
Little Magic Flute (Opera North)' Ferrando/Così fan
tutte and Nadir Der Stein der Weisen (pastiche opera)
(Garsington)' Nadir/Les Pêcheurs de Perles
(Dorset Opera)' 1st Armed Man/Die Zauberflöte
(Glyndebourne on Tour)' Tamino (Castleward)' Normanno/Lucia di
Lammermoor (Opera Holland Park)' David Horne's Friend of
the People (Scottish Opera)' Gawain/Gawain and the Green
Knight (Music Theatre Wales).
Dean Robinson Sam baritone
Born in Australia, Dean Robinson studied at the Royal Northern
College of Music. For the Royal Opera he has sung roles in
Lohengrin, Palestrina, Die Meistersinger von
Nürnberg and Ariadne auf Naxos. He has also
sung for ENO, WNO, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Mid Wales Opera,
Garsington, Netherlands Opera, the Rossini Festival in Pesaro and
Pinchgut Opera in Australia. Roles include Figaro, Leporello,
Don Magnifico and Colline as well as Lindorf/Coppélius/Dr
Miracle/Dapertutto in The Tales of Hoffman. He has
performed with orchestras including the LSO, OAE, Northern Sinfonia
and BBC SO, recorded for Opera Rara, Chandos and LSO Live and sung
in two opera films for Channel 4.
Quentin Hayes bass-baritone
Since winning the VARA Dutch Radio Prize in 1993 at the
Belverdere Singing Competition, Vienna, Quentin Hayes has sung
roles with all the leading UK opera companies including English
National Opera and the Royal Opera House, where he was on contract
as a principal for five years (2000-05). He has worked with most of
the major contemporary ensemble, is recognised for his
interpretation of the music of Hans Werner Henze, and has appeared
in Ades's The Tempest in Amsterdam, Stephen Oliver's
Timon of Athens, Schnittke's Life with an Idiot
(both ENO) Nicholas Maw's Sophie's Choice and Birtwistle's
Gawain and the Green Knight (both ROH) and René Koering's
Scènes de Chasse (Montpellier). He has sung in major
choral works with many leading orchestras and at international
festivals and as well as making television appearances and a number
of recordings.
Nicholas Kok conductor
Nicholas Kok is an extremely versatile conductor. In the concert
hall, opera house and on radio he has conducted many world and
British premieres. He is currently Principal Conductor/Artistic
Advisor to Psappha, with which he has recorded and toured
extensively. He has conducted numerous productions with ENO, Opera
North, Stuttgart Staatsoper, Cologne Opera and Almeida Opera as
well as at the Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Proms and in
Aldeburgh. Orchestral engagements include the Philharmonia, LPO,
BBC Symphony Orchestra, CBSO, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and
the Hallé. He has recorded for Opera Rara and Chandos. Future plans
include concerts with Northern Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra
and NYOS.
Elaine Tyler-Hall director
Elaine Tyler-Hall works full-time with ENO and has directed the
revivals of The Cunning Little Vixen, Orpheus and
Eurydice, The Fairy Queen , Rigoletto and
Tosca in London and also travelled with Orpheus and
Eurydice to New York City Opera, The Cunning Little
Vixen to La Fenice, La Scala, Teatro de la Maestranza and
Israeli Opera, and Semele to Zurich. Her freelance work
has included directing and choreographing The Soldier's
Tale, Vesalii Icones and The Lighthouse for
Psappha, Eugene Onegin and La traviata for
Riverside Opera, Orpheus and Eurydice for Blackheath
Halls, and choreographing The Greek Passion (ROH) and
Benvenuto Cellini (Zurich). She choreographed and assisted
on the world premiere of Maxwell Davies's Mr Emmet Takes a
Walk, which she restaged for the Kammeroper Vienna where she
has also directed La Finta Giardiniera.
Aaron Marsden designer
Aaron Marsden studied theatre design in his native Australia.
Early in his career he designed the set for the film Moulin
Rouge directed by Baz Luhrmann. Recent British credits include
The Lighthouse (Psappha at Buxton Festival and on tour);
La Traviata (Riverside Opera); Opera Scenes (Birkbeck
College); Orpheus and Eurydice and La Bohème
(Blackheath Halls); Eugene Onegin (Riverside Opera);
Truckstop (Edinburgh Fringe and UK tour); The Beaver
Coat (Finborough Theatre); Steam (The White Bear;
Courtyard Theatre); Black & White Sextet and I'm
An Asylum Seeker...Get Me Into Here (Rosemary Branch). Future
plans include Brassed Off in Lichfield.
Marc Rosette lighting designer
Marc Rosette graduated from Croydon College's Theatre Design
course in 1996, specialising in lighting design. Since then his
extensive career has taken him across Europe and the UK. In the
past 10 years he has mainly worked in opera for both the Royal
Opera and English National Opera, collaborating with leading
directors and designers from around the world. Design credits
include Orpheus, La Bohème (Blackheath Halls),
The Lighthouse (Psappha in Buxton and on tour), Double
Tongue (Border Crossings, UK and European tour), Handel in
London, The Magic Flute (ENO Bayliss), Time Of My
Life, Just Between Ourselves, Waiting for Micky (Theatre
Colwyn).
Psappha
Specialising in the performance of music by living composers and
that of the 20th and 21st centuries, Psappha was formed in 1991 by
its Artistic Director Tim Williams. The ensemble has an extensive
and exceptionally varied repertoire of hundreds of works and a
reputation for technical assurance and interpretive flair. It won
the Manchester Evening News Award for Opera in 2000 and has been
shortlisted for a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society award on
two occasions in recent years.
Psappha has commissioned and premiered many works by a wide range of composers including the award-winning music-theatre work, Mr Emmet Takes a Walk, by its Patron Peter Maxwell Davies, released on the ensembles own label.
Psappha has appeared throughout the UK, at most of the country's major music festivals, including the BBC Proms, in special Henze and Maxwell Davies portrait series in London's South Bank, and in a residency at the St. Magnus Festival, Orkney in 2009.
It has made highly successful tours to North and South America, Australia, Belgium, France, Holland, Ireland, Jersey, Portugal and Spain. In addition to six recordings on various labels, it launched its own CD label in 2004 with Maxwell Davies's Eight Songs for a Mad King and Miss Donnithorne's Maggot.
Psappha is developing its online presence with a number of concerts available to view as webcasts and also the development of its 'Composition Lab' for 12 - 18 year olds. Education projects for people of all ages represent an important part of Psappha's schedule both in the UK and abroad. It was awarded the Swatch City Life Award for Best Concert Series and Education Work and is currently The University of Manchester's Contemporary Ensemble in Association.
Watch now:

- Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990) - Trouble in Tahiti
- Ian Wilson (b.1964) - Humpty Dumpty (world premiere)
- Claude Vivier (1948-83) - Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele?
- Peter Maxwell Davies (b.1934) - The Lighthouse (Act 1)
- Peter Maxwell Davies (b.1934) - The Lighthouse (Act 2)
- Claude Vivier (1948-83) - Et je reverrai cette ville étrange
- György Ligeti (1923 - 2006) - Aventures and Nouvelles Aventures
- Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) arr. after Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) - Das Lied von der Erde
- Claude Vivier (1948-83) - Journal
- György Kurtág (b.1926) Signs, Games and Messages
- György Kurtág (born 1926) - Scenes from a Novel, Op.19
- György Ligeti (1923-2006) - Chamber Concerto
- György Ligeti (1923-2006) arr. Elgar Howarth - Mysteries of the Macabre
- Larry Goves (b.1980) - Four Letter Words
- Steven Mackey (born 1956) - Five Animated Shorts
- Gordon McPherson (born 1965) - Celeste Unborne
- Edward Cowie (born 1943) - Psappha Portraits (world premiere)
- Claude Vivier (1948-83) - Shiraz

Watch:Psappha supporting young composers

- Josh Kopecek - the warrior fallen (world premiere)
- Yvonne Eccles - Multiple Infection (world premiere)
- Chris Swithinbank - Wegen & Waldstille (world premiere)
- Soojung Park - Looking over the Land (world premiere)
- Mauricio Pauly - La Prisa Educable
- Ailis Ni Riain (born 1974) - 2 Steep 4 Sheep (some hills are)



