Twilight Voices
Stan Hoffman
About this work:
It is August 21, 1921, at Verdi's Casa di Riposo, a residence for retired musicians in Milan, Italy. Five aging singers mull the circumstances which have brought them, destitute, to The House of Verdi. Anna's career has been cut short by crippling arthritis. Addicted to morphine for her pain, she clings to the hope that one day the immortal Enrico Caruso will hear her still-beautiful voice and sing with her - "If Only I Could Sing With Him." Bernard struggles with memory loss and persistent grief for his dead child; episodes of senile dementia, during which he believes himself to be characters he has portrayed on the stage, leave him frightened and humiliated. Tonio suffers a musician's nightmare - the loss of his hearing; the father of a deaf daughter, he is terrified of the looming silence - "A Life Without Music."
In the shade of the garden, Bernard tries to hold on to dreams of his long-dead little girl - "Why Can't I Remember?" Anna thumbs through her worn scrapbook - "I Remember It All." Together, they reaffirm the inevitability of their having dedicated their lives to music - "I Am the Case."
Sophia's abusive marriage to a great conductor has left her emotionally scarred; now widowed, the legendary diva can't escape her memories - "Luis." Carlo has been in love with Sophia since their youth; they have maintained their friendship through the years. Still in love with her, Carlo is the only one who knows the truth of her marriage. His burning resentment of her dead husband consumes him - "Sophia."
Tonio wanders into the music and picks up a violin - "A Voice That Gets Better With Age." In the heat of the afternoon, all five voice their blazing anger over their fate - "Rage Quintet."
A young reporter interviews Carlo and Tonio - "Cheers and Bravos." In the steadfastness of Carlo's devotion, eventually Sophia opens her heart to love again - "Perhaps Tonight." As night falls, news comes that Caruso has died in Naples. Her last hope dead with him, Anna's physical agony is no longer bearable - "Goodnight, My Sweet Caruso." She considers suicide with the very painkillers that have kept her alive - Instrumental: "Suicide". But she realizes that even Caruso was only the vessel; that other voices will rise to carry the music, thus life is worth living. Her song, "Someday, There May Come Another," raises Tonio and Bernard from their melancholy. With Caruso's death, all five let go of the past - "Other Voices Will Sing Again."
Version: 1999
Year composed: 1999
Duration: 00:58:00
Ensemble type: Opera/Theater:Opera, More than One Act, without Chorus
Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 1 Oboe, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Horn in F, 8 Violin, 3 Viola, 2 Cello, 1 Double bass, 1 Harp, ,1 Soprano soloist(s), ,1 Mezzo-Soprano soloist(s), ,1 Tenor soloist(s), ,1 Baritone soloist(s), ,1 Bass soloist(s)
Instrumentation notes: May be performed with or without intermission.