World Premiere of LEITHIAN, Part I, to be given in New York
J. R. R. Tolkien Tale Is Set by American Composer
The world premiere of Part I of the opera LEITHIAN, by Adam Klein, will be presented July 1, 2006, 7 PM at Liederkranz Hall, 6 East 87th Street, New York City.
LEITHIAN is based on THE SILMARILLION by J. R. R. Tolkien, “1977 George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd., and is used by permission.
This concert performance will feature Tami Swartz, soprano; Adam Klein, tenor; David Adam Moore, baritone; Dianna Dollman, mezzo-soprano; George Kasarjian, countertenor; and Elizabeth Hastings, music director.
THE SILMARILLION, begun in 1914 and published posthumously by Tolkien’s son Christopher, predates THE HOBBIT and its sequel THE LORD OF THE RINGS, which in fact are themselves sequels to this earlier mythic history.
LEITHIAN, or Release from Bondage, takes place in the First Age of Middle-earth, when Sauron was but a captain of an even greater evil being, Morgoth the Black Enemy. (The stories of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS occur in the Third Age.) It is the heroic tale of how Beren and Lúthien – ancestors of Aragorn, Arwen and Elrond – achieved what the entire Elvish army could not: rescue one of the three Silmarils (luminous jewels made by the great Elf-smith Fëanor) from Morgoth’s Crown. It is also the story of the first union between Elf and Man (the last being Arwen and Aragorn).
ASCAP member Adam Klein, who studied composition with John Lessard and Donald Erb, has been a composer since age seven. He began LEITHIAN in 1982 after reading that Tolkien had hoped his stories would be set to music. Completed in 1992, this epic opera (four and one half hours of music plus intermissions) is faithful to its source: the story was not altered and no characters were omitted or conflated. The libretto blends texts by Tolkien and the composer, the former’s being too incomplete to draw from exclusively. The concert on July 1 will present the first half of the piece, though like THE LORD OF THE RINGS it was written as one continuous drama.
In addition to LEITHIAN, Mr. Klein has composed a children’s opera, GOLDIE LOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS, and has written numerous songs. He has also performed in many contemporary operas, most recently AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY at the Metropolitan Opera.
Tickets at the door will be $20 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under.
For further information, call 212-316-1695 or visit adamcjklein.us
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Steven writes: I just got back from the LOTR Symphony in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and wanted to share with you my impressions of the evening. The music was presented in 6 movements and ran for around 2 hours. The first part before the interval was devoted to the Fellowship of the Ring, which meant that the movements for the second and third films were squeezed into the last hour, which was a bit of a shame because there’s some great music in those scores. Nonetheless, the music included was played really well. [More]
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Steven writes: I just got back from the LOTR Symphony in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and wanted to share with you my impressions of the evening. The music was presented in 6 movements and ran for around 2 hours. The first part before the interval was devoted to the Fellowship of the Ring, which meant that the movements for the second and third films were squeezed into the last hour, which was a bit of a shame because there’s some great music in those scores. Nonetheless, the music included was played really well.
The highlight of the first half for me was the build up to the fight in Balins’ tomb which, as on the 1 disc CD, runs into ‘The Bridge of Khazad Dum’ – the way the orchestra played the Fellowship theme here was the best I’d heard it played on any of the Fellowship CD’s. Maybe that’s because I heard it live right in front of me or because the music didn’t need to be orchestrated to match onscreen action, I don’t know! The second half highlight was ‘The White Tree’ when the beacons are lit. Other musical highlights for me were hearing the Isengard theme played live, as well as the Amon Hen music.
The first half featured a young soloist from the RSNO Junior chorus, who did really well when it came to his turn to sing. The female soloist – Ann De Renais according to the programme – did a good job in the second half, though I doubt it was easy stepping into the shoes of Annie Lennox for ‘Into The West’ at the end of the final movement! I should mention the work of the Live Visual Artist here also. There was a nice presentation of concept art on a big screen up above the orchestra, but I appreciated the lighting much more (I’ve got all the Art Of.. books anyway!) here. The way if turned green to represent the Shire and the different Elvish locations, but particularly when the light went red during ‘The Bridge Of Khazad Dum’ with artwork of the Balrog being projected.
I could nit-pick (tracks not included, themes absent from certain pieces – man, I waited ages to hear that Isengard theme!) but I won’t. It was only 2 hours after all, and there’s so much music in the LOTR scores that you can’t have everyone’s favourites included. I’ve only talked about what I personally liked. It was an amazing experience to hear some of my favourite movie music brought to life so vibrantly by a live orchestra and choir. Anyone who goes will, like me, not be disappointed!
If the LOTR Symphony is coming to a concert hall near you, get tickets and go see… or should that be hear…. it.
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