Summer is wrapping up, and along with it, days of lounging in the sun with a good book, but don’t despair! A lot of modern composers are turning to literature for inspiration, so let's swap the audiobooks for musical scores and listen to few of your favorite books. These operas are all varied, interesting additions to the modern repertoire that will only see more performances in the upcoming years. You might even find a new and literary aria to add to your audition package!

 

Alice in Wonderland (Unsuk Chin)

Korean composer Unsuk Chin fully explores the surreal quality of Lewis Carrol’s fantastic tale with a modern, experimental score incorporating singing as well as Sprechstimme. The opera premiered in 2007 at the Bayerische Staatsoper as part of the Munich Opera Festival.

Role Breakdown:​

Alice: Soprano

Cat: Soprano

Mad Hatter/Duck: Baritone

White Rabbit/March Hare/Badger: Countertenor

Mouse/Dormouse/Pat/Cook/Invisible Man: Tenor

Ugly Duchess/Owl/Two: Mezzo-Soprano

Queen of Hearts: Dramatic Soprano

King of Hearts/Old Man No. 2/Crab: Bass

Old Man No. 1/Eaglet/Five/Executioner/Fish-Footman: Tenor

Frog-Footman/Seven/Dodo: Bass

More information is available at publisher Boosey & Hawkes’ website.

 

Cold Mountain (Jennifer Higdon)

Jennifer Higdon’s opera Cold Mountain adapts a modern classic, the 1997 novel of the same name by Charles Frazier, which is loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey. The story follows a Confederate soldier who deserts to make his way back to his sweetheart, Ada, to find that both of them have been profoundly changed by the hardship of war. The score features rich lyricism combined with the flavor of period American folk music. Cold Mountain premiered in 2015 at the Santa Fe Opera, featuring a cast led by Nathan Gunn and Isabel Leonard.

Role Breakdown:​

Inman: Baritone

Ada: Soprano

Ruby: Mezzo-Soprano

Teague: Tenor

Stobrod/Blindman: Bass

Veasey: Tenor

Owens/Ethan/Chain Gang Guard: Baritone

Monroe/Pangle/Chain Gang Guard: Baritone

Lila: Soprano

Katie: Soprano

Olivia: Mezzo-Soprano

Claire: Mezzo-Soprano

Sara: Soprano

Lucinda: Mezzo-Soprano

Junior/Charlie: Tenor

Reid/Chain Gang Guard: Tenor

Thomas: Bass

More information is available at the composer’s website.

 

Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (Libby Larsen)

Libby Larsen adapts Mary Shelley’s classic tale, widely considered the birth of the science fiction genre, with some of music’s scientific side. Larsen’s Frankenstein combines a synthesizer, a video and slide projector, and a sound mixer with a score that conveys the highly charged emotions of Shelley’s novel through dissonance, modern percussion, and a lyrical sound. The famous monster is a non-singing role, relying only on physical movement to express himself. Commissioned by the Minnesota Opera Company, the opera premiered in 1990, and the excerpt “What the Monster Saw” has become a popular piece in the orchestral repertoire.

Role Breakdown:​

Victor Frankenstein: Tenor

Ship Victor: Tenor

The Monster: Mute role

Elizabeth: Soprano

Captain Robert Walton: Baritone

William: Boy Soprano

Justine: Mezzo-Soprano

Henry Clerval: Baritone

More information is available on the composer’s website.

 

The Handmaid’s Tale (Poul Ruders)

Hulu’s recent adaptation has brought Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel back into popular culture, but Poul Ruders was ahead of the curve with his 2000 opera. Ruders conveys a government that has used religion to justify the complete subjugation of women with unsettling, Expressionist music. Given the story’s surge in popularity, this opera has received more productions recently, notably this year at the Minnesota Opera.

Role Breakdown:​

Offred: Mezzo-Soprano

Offred’s Double: Mezzo-Soprano

Luke: Tenor

Offred’s Mother: Mezzo-Soprano

Aunt Lydia: Soprano

Moira: Soprano

Janine: Soprano

Serena Joy: Mezzo-Soprano

Rita: Contralto

The Commander: Bass

Nick: Tenor

More information and streaming samples are available at AllMusic.com.

 

The Grapes of Wrath (Ricky Ian Gordon)

Ricky Ian Gordon’s compositional output blends classical and musical theatre forms. This style resulted in works like Orpheus & Eurydice, a classical song cycle that sometimes feels like a musical, and My Life with Albertine (based on part of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time) a musical that sometimes feels like an opera. Gordon continued this unique sound with The Grapes of Wrath, which takes American musical traditions and expands them to fit the scope of the American Southwest. Minnesota Opera commissioned this adaptation John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a family trying to survive the Dust Bowl in 2007.

Role Breakdown:​

Tom Joad: Baritone

Ma Joad: Mezzo-Soprano

Rosasharn: Soprano

Jim Casy: Tenor

Pa Joad: Baritone

Uncle John: Baritone

Granma: Mezzo-Soprano

Grampa: Tenor

Noah: Bass-Baritone

Al: Tenor

Ruthie: Girl Soprano

Winfield: Boy Soprano

Connie Rivers: Baritone

Muley Graves/George Endicott: Tenor

Mae: Mezzo Soprano

Ragged Man: Baritone

Woman: Soprano

Man: Baritone

More information is available on the composer’s website.

 

The Great Gatsby (John Harbison)

In honor of James Levine’s twenty-fifth anniversary with the company, the Metropolitan Opera commissioned this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel. Harbison’s score blends lyricism, dissonance, and jazz. The Metropolitan Opera’s 1999 original production featured a star cast, including Jerry Hadley as Gatsby, Dawn Upshaw as Daisy, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as Myrtle, and Susan Graham as Jordan Baker, and is available for streaming through the Metropolitan Opera On Demand as well as on DVD and CD recording.

Role Breakdown:​

Jay Gatsby: Tenor

Daisy Buchanan: Soprano

Tom Buchanan: Tenor

Nick Caraway: Baritone

Jordan Baker: Mezzo-Soprano

George Wilson: Bass

Myrtle Wilson: Mezzo-Soprano

Radio/Band Singer: Tenor

Tango Singer: Mezzo-Soprano

Meyer Wolfshiem: Bass-Baritone

Henry Gatz: Baritone

More information and streaming of the complete opera are available at Metropolitan Opera On Demand.

 

The Little Prince (Rachel Portman)

Houston Grand Opera commissioned this 2003 opera based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s allegory for children and adults, Le Petit Prince. The story concerns an airplane pilot who, upon crashing in a desert, encounters a little boy who has fallen to the desert from a far away planet. The two travelers’ discussions poignantly illustrate themes of grief, loneliness, and the healing power of love and friendship through the tender musical score. BBC recorded the opera and released it on DVD and CD.

Role Breakdown:​

Prince: Boy Soprano

Pilot: Baritone

Fox: Mezzo-Soprano

Rose: Soprano Leggero

Water: Soprano

Snake/Vain Man: Tenor

Lamplighter/Drunkard: Tenor

Businessman: Baritone

Geographer: Bass

King: Baritone

More information is available at the opera’s website.

 

Little Women (Mark Adamo)

Comissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, Adamo's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel premiered in 1998. The opera relates Alcott's story of four closely knit but very different sisters as they come of age in Massachussetts during and after the American Civil War. The music is lush, capturing the sentimentality and comfort that many readeres associate with the novel. Houston Grand Opera's production, featuring Joyce DiDonato as Meg March, was televised by PBS through their Great Performances series in 2001.

Role Breakdown:​

Jo March: Mezzo-Soprano

Meg March: Mezzo-Soprano

Beth March: Soprano

Amy March: Coloratura Soprano

Laurie: Tenor

John Brooke: Baritone

Alma "Marmee" March: Mezzo-Soprano

Aunt Cecilia March: Contralto or Mezzo-Soprano

Friedrich Bhaer: Bass-Baritone

Gideon March: Bass-Baritone

Dashwood: Bass-Baritone

More information is available on the composer's website.

 

Moby-Dick (Jake Heggie)

Jake Heggie brought Herman Melville’s immortal Captain Ahab and his quest to destroy a white whale to the stage in 2010. The opera was jointly commissioned by the Dallas Opera, San Francisco Opera, Calgary Opera, San Diego Opera, and the State Opera of South Australia and received a broadcast in 2013 through PBS’s Great Performances series. The score balances the driving quality of Ahab’s obsession with moments of gentle lyricism, creating a full and intense experience.

Role Breakdown:​

Captain Ahab: Tenor

Starbuck: Baritone

Greenhorn: Tenor

Queequeg: Bass-Baritone

Pip: Soprano

Stubb: Baritone

Flask: Tenor

Captain Gardiner: Baritone

More information is available at the composer's website.

 

Bringing these beloved stories and characters to the operatic stage presents a new opportunity for modern audiences and singers to expand their repertoire horizons, so never forget to look up new adaptations of your favorite titles. Happy reading, listening, and singing!