PROPERTY

One-Act Opera for Mezzo and Chamber Ensemble

Story Summary:

The time is 1999. Flora has inherited a large forested property in Vermont. She has a luxurious picnic to celebrate "her land." In one breath, she loves the wilderness and in the next, contemplates its change. A wrong forecast brings rain. She finds shelter in a carved-out rock.

Sometime in the past, an Indian woman, Pale Doe, has found shelter here when her husband, the chief, was buried by a mud slide. She was previously told by the Spirit not to destroy the land, but only to hunt in it. Her husband did not listen to her.

Flora is rescued by the merchant who had set her up with the picnic. Flora is aware of the warnings. She is left with a decision, though her response is left unknown.