Scoring:
4 soloists, SATB, 2 pianos, optional fiddle
Text Source/Author:
after the short story, Feathertop, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Recording:
available at http://www.prhodescomposer.com
First Performance:
commissioned by Carleton College in celebration of the 125th anniversary of its founding. Finalist in National Opera Association's New Opera Competition in 1991.
This work was commissioned by Carleton College to celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding. The Magic Pipe is the second of a pair of one-act operas based on Hawthorne short stories. It is a comedy, more or less, with a moral. The Magic Pipe was one of three finalists in the National Opera Association’s New Chamber Opera Competition in 1992. (Its companion piece is a tragic one-act opera called The Gentle Boy and is based on the Hawthorne story of the same name. In 1986, this work was the winner of the National Opera Association’s New Chamber Opera Competition.)