Oscar 2013
The Love That Dared…
Oscar is Theo Morrison’s vividly observed opera about Oscar Wilde — whose legendary wit concealed a life of high principle and agonizing persecution. Pursuing the beautiful in life and in art, Wilde became a social pariah in London society even as his plays won unprecedented success in London theatre.
Synopsis
Introduction
A historical Introduction by librettist John Cox:
Walt Whitman met Oscar Wilde during the young Irish poet’s lecture tour of the USA in 1882.Walt was at the height of his fame, whereas Oscar was merely a celebrity lecturer explaining the new Aesthetic Movement to the American public. He had at this point written nothing to hint at his enduring genius. By the time Oscar met Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie, Walt was dead while Oscar was very famous. It is from his vantage point of Immortality that Walt presents our opera, revealing to us the catastrophe that Oscar’s love for Bosie brought about.
Bosie Douglas was the youngest son of the Marquess of Queensberry, and they despised one another. Oscar soon found himself in the crossfire of their enmity when Queensberry raised public objection to Oscar’s relationship with his son, imputing a sexual basis to it. Bosie forced Oscar to sue Queensberry for libel, hoping thereby to disgrace him, but Queensberry won the case, so that the disgrace fell on Oscar. He was rapidly put on trial, convicted and jailed for “gross indecency.”
Act I
Oscar is out on bail awaiting the verdict. Queensberry has bribed two detectives to warn hotel managers against giving him a room. Bosie, under pressure from Oscar, leaves the country, but, portrayed by a dancer, he haunts Oscar’s imagination throughout the opera.
Oscar eventually finds shelter with Ada Leverson, also a writer and adored by Oscar who calls her Sphinx. She puts him up in the children’s nursery where they are joined by their friend Frank Harris. At first the innocent gaiety of their surroundings brightens the mood. Drinks are served and playful repartee prevails. Then the influential Frank reveals that he has made arrangements for Oscar to abscond bail, flee the country and escape the inevitable guilty verdict. After much agonizing, especially over his two young children, Oscar refuses to run away. The only honorable course is to face his accusers.
In what essentially becomes a show trial the nursery morphs into the courtroom and the toys enact the proceedings as farce. The “guilty” verdict is handed down and Oscar is sentenced to hard labor for two years.
Act II
The prison warders are sarcastically making their celebrity guest welcome, but a reality check is brutally provided by the sadistic governor, Isaacson, whose personal mission is to punish his charges to the furthest extreme. Oscar will be no exception. He is rapidly broken in body and spirit by the prison regime. In his feverish weakness he suffers a fall during chapel service and injures his head. In the face of rebellious protests by the other prisoners Isaacson grudgingly sends Oscar to the infirmary.
In the infirmary Oscar is able to talk with other sick prisoners, discovering levels of simple humanity that restore his spirits. He realizes that there are greater degrees of suffering in life than he has ever imagined. We discover that there is soon to be an execution. During the night before it the tension inside the prison reaches a terrifying pitch as all feel the presence of Death in their midst. Oscar senses that this death prefigures his own.
Nearing the end of his sentence, Oscar is visited by Frank Harris. Early release has been beyond Frank’s political influence but at least the authorities have decided to replace the tyrannical Isaacson with a more moderate governor who will allow Oscar writing materials, more books and to work in the garden. It is here that he receives his last visitor. Ada Leverson comes to discuss plans for his return to freedom. Alas, his request to join a closed Christian community has been refused. It will be some time before society is prepared to tolerate his return. Indeed, he will have to pass over to the next life before that process can truly begin.
Walt greets Oscar on the threshold of Eternity and conducts him, amidst general acclaim, to his place among the Immortals.
Artists
David Daniels
Countertenor
Oscar Wilde
David Daniels
Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
SFO Debut:
Radamisto, Radamisto, 2008
Past Seasons:
Oscar Wilde, Oscar, 2013
Roberto, Griselda, 2011
Heidi Stober
Soprano
Ada Leverson
Heidi Stober
Hometown: Waukesha, WI
SFO Debut:
Thalie & Folly, Platée, 2007
Past Seasons:
Sandrina, La finta giardiniera, 2015
Ada Leverson, Oscar, 2013
Zdenka, Arabella, 2012
Musetta, La bohème, 2011
Tigrane, Radamisto, 2008
William Burden
Tenor
Frank Harris
William Burden
Hometown: Miami, FL
SFO Debut:
Lindoro, The Italian Girl In Algiers, 2002
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1989, 1990
Past Seasons:
The Podestà, La finta giardiniera, 2015
Frank Harris, Oscar, 2013
Shepherd, King Roger, 2012
Susan Graham and Friends Gala Concert, 2012
Captain Vere, Billy Budd, 2008
Benedict, Beatrice and Benedict, 2004
Paris, La belle Hélène, 2003 (June 27 – August 15)
Ambassador from Edom, Judith, 1990
Lackey, Der Rosenkavalier, 1989
Dwayne Croft
Baritone
Walt Whitman
Dwayne Croft
Hometown: Cooperstown, NY
SFO Debut:
Figaro, The Barber of Seville, 1994
Past Seasons:
Walt Whitman, Oscar, 2013
Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni, 1996
Reed Luplau
Actor & Choreographer
Bosie
Reed Luplau
Hometown: Perth, Western Australia
SFO Debut:
Bosie, Oscar, 2013
Past Seasons:
Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Kevin Burdette
Bass
Mr. Justice Sir Alfred Wills/Colonel Isaacson
Kevin Burdette
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
2025 Season:
Benoît/Alcindoro, La bohème
SFO Debut:
Mr. Scattergood, The Last Savage, 2011
Past Seasons:
Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 2022
Manuel Toulon/Judge, M. Butterfly, 2022
Correspondence, Lord of Cries, 2021
Quince, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Voltaire/Pangloss/Cacambo/Martin, Candide, 2018
Major-domo, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Frosch, Die Fledermaus, 2017
General Polkan, The Golden Cockerel, 2017
Sulpice Pingot, Daughter of the Regiment, 2015
Stobrod Thewes/A Blind Man, Cold Mountain, 2015
Otto van der Puff, The Impresario, 2014
Chamberlain, Le Rossignol, 2014
General Boum, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
Justice Wills/Colonel Isaacson, Oscar, 2013
Aaron Pegram
Tenor
Detective/Prison Warder
Aaron Pegram
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
SFO Debut:
Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro, 2008
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2006, 2007
Past Seasons:
Baron Puck, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
Detective/Prison Warder, Oscar, 2013
Herald, Cendrillon, 2006
Rocky Sellers
Bass
Detective/Prison Warder
Rocky Sellers
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Past Seasons:
Flora’s Servant, La traviata, 2013
Detective/Prison Warder, Oscar, 2013
The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
La donna del lago, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2013
Ricardo Rivera
Baritone
Hotel Manager/Warder Thomas Martin
Ricardo Rivera
Hometown: Ronkonkoma, NY
Past Seasons:
Moralès, Carmen, 2014
Fidelio, 2014
Le Rossignol, 2014
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014
Warder Thomas Martin, Oscar, 2013
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
La donna del lago, 2013
La traviata, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2013, 2014
Patrick Guetti
Bass
Leggatt
Patrick Guetti
Hometown: Highland Park, NJ
Past Seasons:
Prisoner, Fidelio, 2014
Assassin, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014
Carmen, 2014
Le Rossignol, 2014
Leggatt, Oscar, 2013
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
La donna del lago, 2013
La traviata, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2013, 2014
Yoni Rose
Tenor
Bailiff
Yoni Rose
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Past Seasons:
Assassin, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014
Carmen, 2014
Fidelio, 2014
Le Rossignol, 2014
Bailiff, Oscar, 2013
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
La donna del lago, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2013, 2014
Reuben L. Lillie
Baritone
Jury Foreman
Reuben L. Lillie
Hometown: Greenville, PA
Past Seasons:
Jury Foreman, Oscar, 2013
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
La donna del lago, 2013
La traviata, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2013
Christian Sanders
Tenor
Chaplain
Christian Sanders
Hometown: Westcliffe, CO
Past Seasons:
Prison Chaplain, Oscar, 2013
Welko, Arabella, 2012
Tosca, 2012
The Pearl Fishers, 2012
Maometto II, 2012
King Roger, 2012
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2012, 2013
David Blalock
Tenor
Infirmary Patient
David Blalock
Hometown: Burlington, NC
Past Seasons:
Bertram, La donna del lago, 2013
Infirmary Patient, Oscar, 2013
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2012, 2013
Benjamin Sieverding
Bass
Infirmary Patient
Benjamin Sieverding
Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD
Past Seasons:
Infirmary Patient, Oscar, 2013
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
La donna del lago, 2013
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2013
Evan Rogister
Conductor
Evan Rogister
Kevin Newbury
Director
Kevin Newbury
Hometown: Auburn, ME
SFO Debut:
Falstaff, 2008
Past Seasons:
The Righteous, 2024
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, 2017
Oscar, 2013
Life is a Dream, 2010
David Korins
Scenic Designer
David Korins
David C. Woolard
Costume Designer
David C. Woolard
Hometown: Houston, TX
SFO Debut:
A Dream Play, 1998
Past Seasons:
The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018
Cold Mountain, 2015
Oscar, 2013
Così fan tutte, 2007
Così fan tutte, 2003
Madame Mao, 2003
The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2002
Venus and Adonis, 2000
Rick Fisher
Lighting Designer
Rick Fisher
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
2025 Season:
Rigoletto
SFO Debut:
The Egyptian Helen, 2001
Past Seasons:
Eugene Onegin, 2021
The Pearl Fishers, 2019
Madame Butterfly, 2018
Daughter of the Regiment, 2015
Rigoletto, 2015
Salome, 2015
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
The Pearl Fishers, 2012
La bohème, 2011
The Last Savage, 2011
Wozzeck, 2011
Madame Butterfly, 2010
Albert Herring, 2010
Billy Budd, 2008
Radamisto, 2008
La bohème, 2007
Tea: A Mirror of Soul, 2007
Daphne, 2007
Peter Grimes, 2005
La sonnambula, 2004
Intermezzo, 2003
Madame Mao, 2003
La clemenza di Tito, 2002
La Traviata, 2002
Wozzeck, 2001
Seán Curran
Choreographer
Seán Curran
Hometown: New York, NY
SFO Debut:
Daphne, 2007
Past Seasons:
M. Butterfly, 2022
Die Fledermaus, 2017
Vanessa, 2016
Daughter of the Regiment, 2015
Salome, 2015
The Impresario & Le Rossignol, 2014
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014
Oscar, 2013
The Last Savage, 2011
The Tales of Hoffmann, 2010
Susanne Sheston
Chorus Master
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
2025 Season
SFO Debut:
2008 Season
Past Seasons:
2024 Season
2023 Season
2022 Season
2021 Season
2019 Season
2018 Season
2017 Season
2016 Season
2015 Season
2014 Season
2013 Season
2012 Season
2011 Season
2010 Season
2009 Season
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