Prepare for Saints: Gertrude Stein, Virgil Thomson, and the Mainstreaming of American Modernism.Prepare for Saints: Gertrude Stein, Virgil Thomson, and the Mainstreaming of American Modernism * Steven Watson * Random House * $35 If Virgil Thomson's uniquely delectable Four Saints in Three Acts Four Saints in Three Acts is an opera by American composer Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein. Written in 1927-8, it contains about twenty saints, and is in at least four acts. isn't the greatest of all American operas--and only Porgy porgy (pôr`gē), common name for members of the Sparidae, a family of small-mouthed fishes with strong teeth adapted for crushing their food of shellfish and crustaceans. and Bess presents any serious competition--the story of how it got onto the stage in 1934 rivals any of the others for epic drama. In his thoroughly engaging saga Prepare for Saints, Steven Watson paints a portrait of the gay sensibility at its most ebulliently triumphant. Thomson sought the libretto libretto (ləbrĕt`ō) [Ital.,=little book], the text of an opera or an oratorio. Although a play usually emphasizes an integrated plot, a libretto is most often a loose plot connecting a series of episodes. from Gertrude Stein in Paris; coaxed his partner, Maurice Grosser, into preparing a scenario; hired the brilliant young English choreographer Frederick Ashton to cross the pond to create the dances; and garnered support from the visionary intellectuals who had clustered around Lincoln Kirstein at Harvard. Four Saints' lack of plot broke all the rules of opera, the use of American hymn tunes daunted daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin the sophisticates, the casting was controversial--Thomson and Stein insisted on an ensemble made up entirely of African-Americans, operating on the theory that they were able to project Stein's libretto with more musicality--and Florine Stettheimer's cellophane cellophane, thin, transparent sheet or tube of regenerated cellulose. Cellophane is used in packaging and as a membrane for dialysis. It is sometimes dyed and can be moisture-proofed by a thin coating of pyroxylin. sets have earned a special place in art history. Watson's narrative traces the lives of the individual collaborators, then assembles them for the world premiere in Hartford, Conn., and the subsequent Broadway run. The writing offers all the suspense and satisfaction of a great intellectual thriller. Ulrich is the dance and classical-music critic for the San Francisco Examiner The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th Century. History 19th century The beginning of the Examiner is a topic of some controversy. . |
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