Fact or Fiction

Fact or Fiction: History and Literature in Classical Music

Opera and art song have been inspired for years by two main sources: fact and fiction. Fact or Fiction: History and Literature in Classical Music juxtaposes some of history's most famous figures as they are portrayed in classical music, as well as some of literature's most beloved characters transformed as operatic characters.

 

 

 

Anne Boleyn from Try Me Good King (Libby Larsen)

Libby Larsen's song cycle Try Me Good King sets letters and last words of the wives of Henry VIII to music, bringing to life the personalities and final moments of the doomed queens. Anne Boleyn's movement is taken from both her letters to her husband from her imprisonment as well as her last words spoken at her execution.

Snowball from Five Silverstein Songs (Evan Fein)

Composer Evan Fein brings to life some of beloved children's author Shel Silverstein's silliest poems in this lively song cycle. Snowball visits a child who has created the perfect pet only to lose it in a confusing way.