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About Trouble In Tahiti and A Quiet Place: |
Leonard Bernstein's first essay into opera was the one-act Trouble in Tahiti, to his own libretto, and when he returned to compose a full-length opera, he and librettist Stephen Wadsworth returned to this earlier score for inspiration. Originally A Quiet Place was planned as a double bill with the earlier work, but in the finished score Trouble in Tahiti appears as two extended flashbacks in Act II of A Quiet Place.
Cast of Characters |
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Old Sam
Dede Junior François Susie Bill Mrs. Doc |
Doc
Funeral Director Analyst Dinah Young Sam Trio |
| Chorus of guests at the funeral, etc. | |
Synopsis |
In the prologue, onlookers comment on a car accident in which Dinah, one of the protagonists of Trouble in Tahiti, is killed. At the funeral, Sam, Dinah's husband, fights with their two children, Dede and Junior, and with François, Dede's French-Canadian husband and Junior's ex-lover. Junior, who has a history of mental problems, taunts his father with a kind of bizarre striptease, and all four family members leave separately. Later, Sam is reading Dinah's diaries. As Dede helps him sort through her mother's closet, we see the action of Trouble in Tahiti in a pair of extended flashbacks; meanwhile, Fran&cced;ois helps Junior sort through his relationships with his family.
Trouble in Tahiti:
A vocal trio sings about the pleasures of life in the suburbs; young Sam and Dinah fight over the breakfast table. Sam decides to skip his son's school show: winning the handball cup at the gym is more important to him. As Sam works his way through another successful day, winning the handball cup and pleased with his day at work, Dinah wonders what became of the quiet place she wanted to make for herself, and what happened to her marriage. The two pass each other in the street; each makes up an excuse for their not having lunch together; later, they wish they didn't have to. Dinah goes to see a terrible movie, Trouble in Tahiti; though she knows it's drivel, she get caught up in the romance of the story. That evening, the couple try to talk about their relationship, but neither is able to open up. Sam suggests they see a movie together; they leave to watch Trouble in Tahiti.
The next day, Dede is weeding her mother's garden; she is joined by her husband and her brother in a game of tag. Sam joins them, and there is a brief moment of reconciliation and good feeling as they read passages from Dinah's diary; though they quickly lapse back into bitterness, at the end of the opera the family joins in a real embrace.
Performance History: Trouble in Tahiti |
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World premiere: 12 June 1952 Waltham, Mass. |
Television premiere: 1952 | |
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Broadway premiere: 1955 as part of the show All in One. |
Tulsa Opera Company premiere: 1995 With Cavalleria Rusticana
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Performance History: A Quiet Place |
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One-act version premiere: Houston Grand Opera World premiere: 17 June 1983 One-act version Double bill with Trouble in Tahiti Conducted by John DeMain Stage direction by Mark Schifter |
Full version premiere: La Scala Company premiere: 19 June 1984 Full version Incorporating Trouble in Tahiti Conducted by Joh Mauceri Stage direction by Stephen Wadsworth |
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Vienna State Opera Company premiere: 1 April 1986 Conducted by Leonard Bernstein Stage direction by Stephen Wadsworth |
Other performances: 1987, Bielefeld, Germany 1987, Maastricht, Holland |
Discography |
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