Trouble in Tahiti; Bernstein Selections
Charles Prince, conductor; Jamie Bernstein, director; Alexandra Silber, soprano; Shuler Hensley, baritone
The lyrical, jazzy style of Leonard Bernstein’s 1952 one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti has much in common with On the Town (being performed July 7) and West Side Story (July 28). Bernstein himself wrote the libretto; the scenario revolves around Dinah and her husband Sam’s disaffection with their rat-race, suburban life. The plot has nothing to do with Tahiti; the title comes from a romantic movie Dinah contrasts with her workaday, unromantic existence. Trouble in Tahiti was premiered in June 1952 at Brandeis University, where Bernstein was on the faculty, and was presented by NBC on television the following November.
Semi-staged performance.
