Inspiration and memory run through four eclectic works. Anthony De Ritis’ Jiggedy, Jingle, Jaunty, Jaunty receives its world premiere. BMOP welcomes soprano Julia Bullock for Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and for selections from Matthew Aucoin’s The No One’s Rose. The program concludes with Charles Wuorinen’s Delight of the Muses, drawn from material in Don Giovanni.
CURRENT SEASON
JFK
In the opera JFK imagines the final night John and Jacqueline Kennedy spent in Fort Worth before traveling to Dallas, using dream states rather than literal history to explore their inner lives. Guided by mythic Fates, the couple drifts into visions that blend memory, fantasy, and emotional truth: Jack revisits key figures from his past, while Jackie encounters her future self preparing her for the day ahead. Time bends, but fate remains fixed. The opera portrays the Kennedys at the edge of tragedy, examining their humanity, their pain and love, and the way they became American myth. Ultimately, it reflects not only their story but the nation’s enduring sense of loss and the inevitability of destiny.
Aftertones of Infinity
Joseph Schwantner’s Pulitzer‑winning Aftertones of Infinity (1979) opens the program. Saxophonist Timothy McAllister performs the New England premiere of Tyshawn Sorey’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize–winning Adagio (for Wadada Leo Smith) and premieres a new Saxophone Concerto by fellow Pulitzer winner Paul Moravec. The concert concludes with Lukas Foss’ Baroque Variations, drawing on works by Handel, Scarlatti, and Bach.
Be Glad Then America
John La Montaine’s Be Glad Then America is a vivid pageant that blends narration, solo voices, chorus, and orchestra into a sweeping musical portrait of the nation’s founding spirit. Drawing on historical texts and La Montaine’s bold orchestral writing, the work moves between reflection and celebration, creating a theatrical tour de force that evokes the ideals, conflicts, and aspirations of early America. The original 1976 production was conceived and directed by Boston icon Sarah Caldwell.
Written for the American Bicentennial, Be Glad Then America is a large‑scale statement on national identity and will be an uplifting tribute to America’s 250th anniversary.
