Stefan Asbury conducts Bernstein’s “A Quiet Place”
Stefan Asbury, conductor; Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows
Stefan Asbury leads the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows in a fully staged performance of Bernstein’s one-act opera A Quiet Place, directed by Daniel Fish, with costume design by Terese Wadden and lighting design by Barbara Samuels. Conceived as a sequel to his 1952 one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti (being performed July 12), and to be heard here in a recently created version for chamber ensemble, A Quiet Place-Bernstein’s final work for the stage-was originally premiered in 1983 on a double bill with Trouble in Tahiti. Providing an intimate picture of family relationships, the story rejoins Sam from Trouble in Tahiti years later, following Dinah’s unexpected death. Entering the picture are their son Junior, daughter Dede, and her husband (and Junior’s former boyfriend) François. The final, closing scene for Sam and the three young people brings closure and hope to their lives.