Four Saints in Three Acts

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Four Saints in Three Acts caused a sensation when it was premiered on Broadway in 1934, with its all-black cast, fanciful set designs, and “deftly simple score” (New York Times), all set to a libretto by American novelist Gertrude Stein. The groundbreaking American opera is featured here in its entirety, conducted by Grammy Award winner Joel Thome.

Description

Four Saints in Three Acts caused a sensation when it was premiered on Broadway in 1934, with its all-black cast, fanciful set designs, and “deftly simple score” (New York Times), all set to a libretto by American novelist Gertrude Stein. The groundbreaking American opera is featured here in its entirety, conducted by Grammy Award winner Joel Thome.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Production and musical supervision: Marc J. Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz, Elite Recordings, Inc.
Recorded November 1981 at Rutgers Church, New York
Production coordinator: Elise Keen
Mastered by Michele Stone, Elektra Sound Recorders
Recording made possible in part by grants from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music, Inc., Betty Freeman, Priscilla Goodrich Rea and the R.H. and Esther F. Goodrich Foundation, and Louise Crane
 
Design: Denise Minobe
Cover painting: Portrait of Virgil Thomson (1930) by Florine Stettheimer, Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
 
Director: Keith Holzman

Nonesuch Selection Number

79035

Number of Discs in Set
2discs
ns_album_artistid
113
ns_album_id
300
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Virgil Thomson
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Joel Thome, Conductor
 
Cast:
Betty Allen, Commère
Benjamin Matthews, Compère
Arthur Thompson, St. Ignatius
Clamma Dale, St. Teresa I
Florence Quivar, St. Teresa II
William Brown, St. Chavez
Gwendolyn Bradley, St. Settlement
William Penn, St. Plan
Joseph de Vaughn, St. Stephen
Ella Eure-Eaton, St. Sara
Denise Lock, St. Cecelia
Maeretha Stewart, St. Celestine
Lloyd Thompkins, St. Lawrence
Clifford Townsend, St. Jan & St. Placide
Leon Wheeler, St. Absalon
Kevin Elliot, St. Eustace
Linda Childs, St. Genevieve
Cheryl Kirk, St. Anne
Louis Tucker, St. Answers
 
Orchestra of Our Time
Violin: Jean Ingraham (Concertmaster), Katsuko Esaki, Robert Chausow, Andrew Schaw, Diane Bruce, Suzzane Ornstein (Principal Second), Richard Henrickson, Lisa Lyons, Fumiko Wellington
Viola: Valerie Heywood (Principal), Ronald E. Carbone, Louise Schulman
Cello: Gary Fitzgerald (Principal), Loretta O’Sullivan
Bass: Lewis J. Paer
Harmonium: Romulus Franceschini
Accordion: Guy Klucevsek
Flute: Susan Palma
Oboe: Charles Kuskin
Clarinet: William Blount
Bassoon: Jeffery Winter
Horn: Julie Landsman, Scott Temple
Trumpet: Ralph Schwartz
Trombone: Richard Clard
Percussion: Jeffery Kraus, Glen Velez
 
Chorus
Lawrence Weller, chorus master
Sopranos: Marilyn Andry, Ella Eure-Eaton, Iris Harris, Denis Lock, Judith Otten, Maeretha Stewart, Diane Wilson
Altos: Linda Childs, Cheryl Kirk, Patricia McDermott, Lisa Polite, Gloria Turner, Deborah Young
Tenors: Harold Beasley, Joseph de Vaughn, Richard Jasper, Clifford Terry, Louis Tucker, Leon Wheeler
Baritones/basses: Kevin Elliot, Earl Grandison, Theodore Hodges, William Penn, Lloyd Thompkins, Clifford Townsend

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
Price
0.00
UPC
075597903522BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
603497124862
  • 79035

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  • About This Album

    Four Saints in Three Acts caused a sensation when it was premiered on Broadway in 1934, with its all-black cast, fanciful set designs, and “deftly simple score” (New York Times), all set to a libretto by American novelist Gertrude Stein. The groundbreaking American opera is featured here in its entirety, conducted by Grammy Award winner Joel Thome.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Joel Thome, Conductor
     
    Cast:
    Betty Allen, Commère
    Benjamin Matthews, Compère
    Arthur Thompson, St. Ignatius
    Clamma Dale, St. Teresa I
    Florence Quivar, St. Teresa II
    William Brown, St. Chavez
    Gwendolyn Bradley, St. Settlement
    William Penn, St. Plan
    Joseph de Vaughn, St. Stephen
    Ella Eure-Eaton, St. Sara
    Denise Lock, St. Cecelia
    Maeretha Stewart, St. Celestine
    Lloyd Thompkins, St. Lawrence
    Clifford Townsend, St. Jan & St. Placide
    Leon Wheeler, St. Absalon
    Kevin Elliot, St. Eustace
    Linda Childs, St. Genevieve
    Cheryl Kirk, St. Anne
    Louis Tucker, St. Answers
     
    Orchestra of Our Time
    Violin: Jean Ingraham (Concertmaster), Katsuko Esaki, Robert Chausow, Andrew Schaw, Diane Bruce, Suzzane Ornstein (Principal Second), Richard Henrickson, Lisa Lyons, Fumiko Wellington
    Viola: Valerie Heywood (Principal), Ronald E. Carbone, Louise Schulman
    Cello: Gary Fitzgerald (Principal), Loretta O’Sullivan
    Bass: Lewis J. Paer
    Harmonium: Romulus Franceschini
    Accordion: Guy Klucevsek
    Flute: Susan Palma
    Oboe: Charles Kuskin
    Clarinet: William Blount
    Bassoon: Jeffery Winter
    Horn: Julie Landsman, Scott Temple
    Trumpet: Ralph Schwartz
    Trombone: Richard Clard
    Percussion: Jeffery Kraus, Glen Velez
     
    Chorus
    Lawrence Weller, chorus master
    Sopranos: Marilyn Andry, Ella Eure-Eaton, Iris Harris, Denis Lock, Judith Otten, Maeretha Stewart, Diane Wilson
    Altos: Linda Childs, Cheryl Kirk, Patricia McDermott, Lisa Polite, Gloria Turner, Deborah Young
    Tenors: Harold Beasley, Joseph de Vaughn, Richard Jasper, Clifford Terry, Louis Tucker, Leon Wheeler
    Baritones/basses: Kevin Elliot, Earl Grandison, Theodore Hodges, William Penn, Lloyd Thompkins, Clifford Townsend

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Production and musical supervision: Marc J. Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz, Elite Recordings, Inc.
    Recorded November 1981 at Rutgers Church, New York
    Production coordinator: Elise Keen
    Mastered by Michele Stone, Elektra Sound Recorders
    Recording made possible in part by grants from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music, Inc., Betty Freeman, Priscilla Goodrich Rea and the R.H. and Esther F. Goodrich Foundation, and Louise Crane
     
    Design: Denise Minobe
    Cover painting: Portrait of Virgil Thomson (1930) by Florine Stettheimer, Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
     
    Director: Keith Holzman