Trouble in Tahiti
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Trouble in Tahiti |
| Original title: | Trouble in Tahiti |
| Shape: | thoroughly composed |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Leonard Bernstein |
| Libretto : | Leonard Bernstein |
| Literary source: | no |
| Premiere: | June 12, 1952 |
| Place of premiere: | Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Playing time: | about an hour |
| Place and time of the action: | American city mid 20th century |
| people | |
Trouble in Tahiti is an opera in one act (seven scenes) by Leonard Bernstein . The composer was also his own librettist. It premiered on June 12, 1952 in the auditorium of Brandeis University in Waltham , where Bernstein was a professor at the time.
action
The opera is not set in Tahiti, but in a typical suburb of an American city in the early 1950s, i.e. at the time of the premiere. The title only alludes to the fact that the (fictional) movie "Trouble in Tahiti" plays a certain role in the stage work.
Dinah and Sam have been married for a number of years and have one child. The two still live together, but most of the time they are tired of each other. They greet each other in a friendly way every morning, but they already get into an argument at breakfast. Sam is happy to be able to leave the house to go to the office. He finds recognition and satisfaction in the sports club in the evenings; there he is the hero.
Dinah has appointments with the psychiatrist far too often. Its ramblings seem to make it sicker than it is. How good that the city has at least one cinema. There is currently a moving piece from the Hollywood dream factory: Trouble in Tahiti. Although she already knows the film, she will watch it again in the afternoon. In the illusory world of the film, she dreams of a more beautiful life. Oh, her relationship with Sam could be just as easy as that of the protagonists in the film.
In the evening, the two of them sit back at home, seemingly idyllic at the table. The common problems should actually be discussed now, but nobody dares to steer the conversation in this direction. To get other thoughts, Sam suggests to his wife to go to the cinema. And what are they looking at there? "Trouble in Tahiti" of course.
music
The music is easily accessible to the listener. It is modern and melodious. Aria-like melodies alternate with groovy songs. The score also has jazzy elements. Bernstein called his work an opera; The proximity to the musical cannot be ignored, however, comparable to his better-known Candide , which he himself called an “operetta”, but is usually referred to as a “musical” in German-speaking countries. The singing and dance trio prescribed by the composer alongside “man” and “woman” virtually takes on the function of the choir.
In 1984, Bernstein incorporated Trouble in Tahiti into his second (and last) opera A Quiet Place .
Sound carrier
- Deutsche Grammophon (Digital Stereo, 459 050-2): Leonard Bernstein conducts. In addition to excerpts from Trouble in Tahiti with Wendy White, Louise Edeiken, Edward Crafts, Mark Thomsen, Kurt Ollmann and the ORF Symphony Orchestra, excerpts from West Side Story and Candide are also represented.
- BBC / Opus Arte (OA 0838 D): Trouble in Tahiti (DVD), Stephanie Novacek, Karl Daymond, City of London Sinfonie, Paul Daniel 2001