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Magdalena: a Musical Adventure is a folk operetta in two acts with music by Heitor Villa-Lobos, original book by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan and Homer Curran, and lyrics and musical adaptations by Robert Wright and George Forrest.

Performance history

Magdalena premiered at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera on 26 July 1948, pursuant to a commission from Edwin Lester, president of that organization. Arthur Kay conducted Irra Petina, Dorothy Sarnoff, John Raitt, Hugo Haas, Gerhard Pechner, A. Garcia, Melva Niles, Henry Reese, Ferdinand Hilt, J. Arthur, Betty Huff, Christine Matsios, Leonard Morganthaler, John Schickling, Lorraine Miller, Gene Curtsinger, Patrick Kirk, Betty Brusher, and Jack Cole (soloists). Jules Dassin directed, Jack Cole was the choreographer, assisted by Gwen Verdon, and the chorus was prepared by Robert Zeller. Broadway veterans Howard Bay (settings and lighting) and Irene Sharaff (costumes) were also part of the creative team. It was also presented in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre (San Francisco Light Opera) for several performances beginning August 16, 1948.^[1] The same production opened in New York City at the Ziegfeld Theatre on September 20, 1948, and closed on December 4 after 88 performances. Raitt, Sarnoff, and Haas reprised their roles. No recording was made due to a strike.

Magdalena was revived in concert form under conductor Evans Haile on November 24, 1987, at Alice Tully Hall in New York's Lincoln Center; a recording with a slightly different cast was made in RCA's studios in 1988 and issued by CBS (later Sony) in 1989 (ASIN: B0000026QF).^[2] In 1992, Ohio Light Opera, a summer festival in Wooster, Ohio, presented a fully-staged revival, the first since 1948. The work was performed in Australia in the 1990s as part of the Opera Festival in Ballarat, Victoria, again under Haile. More recently the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris announced a production to open in May 2010, with Kate Whoriskey directing and Warren Adams supplying choreography.^{[clarification needed]}

Critical reception

The play received a withering review from Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times, who called it "one of the most overpoweringly dull musical dramas of all time" and compared its slow plot to "being hit over the head with a sledge hammer repeatedly all evening," adding: "It hurts." He was kinder to Villa-Lobos's score: "Disentangled from the appalling libretto and lyrics of 'Magdalena,' the score might be stimulating, especially since the orchestrations are unhackneyed and an accomplished singing actress, like Irra Petina, can give her numbers brilliance and eloquence."^[3]

Other critics were far more positive. John Chapman in the New York Daily News, while dismissing the book as "secondary," called the play "a bold and stunning departure in the musical theater ... a flaming, opulent, disturbing and imaginative work which does not fit into any of the standard patterns." He praised Villa-Lobos' score as "busy, immensely intricate and strangely, fascinatingly orchestrated."^[4]

Musical numbers

As presented in 1948
Act I

Women Weaving
Petacal
The Seed of God
The Omen Bird
My Bus and I
The Emerald
The Civilized People
Food For Thought
Come to Colombia
Plan It by the Planets
Bon Soir, Paris
Travel, Travel, Travel
Magdalena
The Broken Pianolita
Greeting
The River Song
Chivor Dance
My Bus and I (Reprise)
The Forbidden Orchid

Act II

Ceremonial
The Singing Tree
Lost
Freedom!
Vals de Espana
The Emerald (Reprise)
Piece de Resistance
The Broken Bus
The Seed of God (Reprise)

References

^ "Villa-Lobos Musical Set for Monday," Oakland Tribune, August 12, 1948
^ amazon.com listing
^ Brooks Atkinson, "Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian Composer, Has Written the Musical Score for 'Magdalena'", New York Times, September 21, 1948: p. 31.
^ "'Magdalena' a Bold, Fascinating and Dazzling Musical Adventure," by John Chapman, New York Daily News, Sept. 22, 1948, p. 79

External links

[1] "Villa-Lobos Musical Set for Monday," Oakland Tribune, August 12, 1948

[2] zon.com listing

[3] Brooks Atkinson, "Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian Composer, Has Written the Musical Score for 'Magdalena'", New York Times, September 21, 1948: p. 31.

[4] "'Magdalena' a Bold, Fascinating and Dazzling Musical Adventure," by John Chapman, New York Daily News, Sept. 22, 1948, p. 79

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{italic title}}
-{{Villa-Lobos operas}}{{italic title}}'''''Magdalena: a Musical Adventure''''' is a folk operetta in two acts with music by [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]], original book by [[Frederick Hazlitt Brennan]] and [[Homer Curran]], and lyrics and musical adaptations by [[Robert Wright (writer)|Robert Wright]] and [[George Forrest (author)|George Forrest]].
+[[File:Heitor Villa-Lobos (c. 1922).jpg|thumb|[[Heitor Villa-Lobos]] ]]
+'''''Magdalena: a Musical Adventure''''' is a folk operetta in two acts with music by [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]], original book by [[Frederick Hazlitt Brennan]] and [[Homer Curran]], and lyrics and musical adaptations by [[Robert Wright (writer)|Robert Wright]] and [[George Forrest (author)|George Forrest]].
 ==Performance history==
-''Magdalena'' premiered at the [[Los Angeles Civic Light Opera]] on 26 July 1948, pursuant to a commission from [[Edwin Lester]], president of that organization. Arthur Kay conducted Irra Petina, [[Dorothy Sarnoff]], [[John Raitt]], [[Hugo Haas]], Gerhard Pechner, A. Garcia, Melva Niles, Henry Reese, Ferdinand Hilt, J. Arthur, Betty Huff, Christine Matsios, Leonard Morganthaler, John Schickling, Lorraine Miller, Gene Curtsinger, Patrick Kirk, Betty Brusher, and Jack Cole (soloists). [[Jules Dassin]] directed, [[Jack Cole (choreographer)|Jack Cole]] was the choreographer, and the chorus was prepared by Robert  Zeller. Broadway veterans Howard Bay (settings and lighting) and Irene Sharaff (costumes) were also part of the creative team. It was also presented in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre (San Francisco Light Opera) for several performances beginning August 16, 1948.<ref>"Villa-Lobos Musical Set for Monday," ''Oakland Tribune'', August 12, 1948</ref> The same production opened in [[New York]] at the [[Ziegfeld Theatre]] on September 20, 1948, and closed on December 4 after 88 performances. Raitt, Sarnoff, and Haas reprised their roles. No recording was made due to a strike. ''Magdalena'' was revived in concert form under conductor Evans Haile on November 24, 1987, at Alice Tully Hall in New York's [[Lincoln Center]]; a recording with a slightly different cast was made in RCA's studios in 1988 and issued by CBS (later Sony) in 1989 (ASIN: B0000026QF).<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Magdalena-Concert-Recording-Heitor-Villa-Lobos/dp/B0000026QF amazon.com listing]</ref> The work was performed in Australia in the 1990s as part of the Opera Festival in Ballarat, Victoria, again under Haile. More recently the [[Théâtre du Châtelet]] in [[Paris]] announced a production to open in May 2010, with [[Kate Whoriskey]] directing and [[Warren Adams]] supplying choreography.
+''Magdalena'' premiered at the [[Los Angeles Civic Light Opera]] on 26 July 1948, pursuant to a commission from [[Edwin Lester]], president of that organization. [[Arthur Kay (musician)|Arthur Kay]] conducted [[Irra Petina]], [[Dorothy Sarnoff]], [[John Raitt]], [[Hugo Haas]], Gerhard Pechner, A. Garcia, Melva Niles, Henry Reese, Ferdinand Hilt, J. Arthur, Betty Huff, Christine Matsios, Leonard Morganthaler, John Schickling, Lorraine Miller, Gene Curtsinger, Patrick Kirk, Betty Brusher, and Jack Cole (soloists). [[Jules Dassin]] directed, [[Jack Cole (choreographer)|Jack Cole]] was the choreographer, assisted by [[Gwen Verdon]], and the chorus was prepared by Robert  Zeller. Broadway veterans Howard Bay (settings and lighting) and Irene Sharaff (costumes) were also part of the creative team. It was also presented in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre (San Francisco Light Opera) for several performances beginning August 16, 1948.<ref>"Villa-Lobos Musical Set for Monday," ''Oakland Tribune'', August 12, 1948</ref> The same production opened in [[New York City]] at the [[Ziegfeld Theatre (1927)|Ziegfeld Theatre]] on September 20, 1948, and closed on December 4 after 88 performances. Raitt, Sarnoff, and Haas reprised their roles. No recording was made due to a strike.
+''Magdalena'' was revived in concert form under conductor Evans Haile on November 24, 1987, at Alice Tully Hall in New York's [[Lincoln Center]]; a recording with a slightly different cast was made in RCA's studios in 1988 and issued by CBS (later Sony) in 1989 (ASIN: B0000026QF).<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Magdalena-Concert-Recording-Heitor-Villa-Lobos/dp/B0000026QF amazon.com listing]</ref> In 1992, [[Ohio Light Opera]], a summer festival in Wooster, Ohio, presented a fully-staged revival, the first since 1948. The work was performed in Australia in the 1990s as part of the Opera Festival in Ballarat, Victoria, again under Haile. More recently the [[Théâtre du Châtelet]] in [[Paris]] announced a production to open in May 2010, with [[Kate Whoriskey]] directing and Warren Adams supplying choreography.{{Clarify|date=February 2018}}<!--Did this performance actually take place, or was it just "announced" and never heard of again?-->
+== Critical reception ==
+The play received a withering review from [[Brooks Atkinson]] of the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'', who called it "one of the most overpoweringly dull musical dramas of all time" and compared its slow plot to "being hit over the head with a sledge hammer repeatedly all evening," adding: "It hurts." He was kinder to Villa-Lobos's score: "Disentangled from the appalling libretto and lyrics of 'Magdalena,' the score might be stimulating, especially since the orchestrations are unhackneyed and an accomplished singing actress, like Irra Petina, can give her numbers brilliance and eloquence."<ref>Brooks Atkinson, "Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian Composer, Has Written the Musical Score for 'Magdalena'", ''New York Times'', September 21, 1948: p.&nbsp;31.</ref>
+Other critics were far more positive. John Chapman in the [[New York Daily News]], while dismissing the book as "secondary," called the play "a bold and stunning departure in the musical theater ... a flaming, opulent, disturbing and imaginative work which does not fit into any of the standard patterns." He praised Villa-Lobos' score as "busy, immensely intricate and strangely, fascinatingly orchestrated."<ref>"'Magdalena' a Bold, Fascinating and Dazzling Musical Adventure," by John Chapman, New York Daily News, Sept. 22, 1948, p. 79</ref>
 ==Musical numbers==
@@ Line 41: / Line 51: @@
 ==Further reading==
-*Garcia, Thomas George Caracas. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0022-3840.2004.00090.x/abstract "American Views of Brazilian Musical Culture: Villa-Lobos's Magdalena and Brazilian Popular Music"]. ''Journal Of Popular Culture'' [serial online] 37 no. 4 (May 2004) :634-647. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Paywalled.
+*Garcia, Thomas George Caracas. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0022-3840.2004.00090.x/abstract "American Views of Brazilian Musical Culture: Villa-Lobos's Magdalena and Brazilian Popular Music"]. ''Journal of Popular Culture'' [serial online] 37 no. 4 (May 2004): 634–647. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Paywalled.
-*Cadenhead F. "Magdelena". ''American Record Guide'' [serial online]. 73, no 5 (September 2010): 43-44. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA.
+*Cadenhead F. "Magdelena". ''American Record Guide'' [serial online]. 73, no 5 (September 2010): 43–44. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA.
-* Lisa M. Peppercorn. "Villa-Lobos's Stage Works". ''Revue belge de Musicologie'' / ''Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap'' 36 (1982–84): 175-84.
+* Peppercorn, Lisa M. "Villa-Lobos's Stage Works". ''Revue belge de Musicologie'' / ''Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Muziekwetenschap'' 36 (1982–84): 175–84.
 *{{cite journal
   |title = Villa-Lobos's Commissioned Compositions
   |last = Peppercorn
   |first = Lisa M.
-  |journal = [[Tempo]]
+  |journal = [[Tempo (journal)|Tempo]]
+  |issn = 1478-2286
-  |publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
-  |issn = 14782286
   |series = New Series
   |issue = 151
@@ Line 56: / Line 65: @@
   |pages = 28–31
   |jstor = 946216
+|doi = 10.1017/S0040298200058988
-  |via = [[JSTOR]]
-  |registration = y
+  |s2cid = 144527649
-}}
+ }}
 ==External links==
 *[http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=2018 Internet Broadway Database listing]
 *[http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9B0DE7DC1E3AF936A15752C1A961948260 ''New York Times'' review, November 25, 1987]
-*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799264,00.html?promoid=googlep ''Time Magazine'' review], October 4, 1948
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121022184858/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799264,00.html?promoid=googlep ''Time Magazine'' review], October 4, 1948
-*[http://www.villalobos.ca/Magdalena Red Deer Public Library page about the play]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110825151741/http://www.villalobos.ca/Magdalena Red Deer Public Library page about the play]
+{{Heitor Villa-Lobos}}
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Operas by Heitor Villa-Lobos]]
+[[Category:English-language operas]]
+[[Category:Operas]]
 [[Category:1948 musicals]]
+[[Category:1948 operas]]
+[[Category:Broadway musicals]]

v t e Heitor Villa-Lobos
List of compositions
Opera	Magdalena: a Musical Adventure Yerma
Orchestral works	Chôros No. 6 Chôros No. 8 Chôros No. 9 Chôros No. 10 Chôros No. 11 Chôros No. 12 Chôros No. 13 Chôros No. 14 Symphony No. 1 (The Unforeseen) Symphony No. 2 (Ascension) Symphony No. 3 (War) Symphony No. 4 (Victory) Symphony No. 5 (Peace) Symphony No. 6 (On the Outline of the Mountains of Brazil) Symphony No. 7 (Peace Odyssey) Symphony No. 8 Symphony No. 9 Symphony No. 10 (Sumé, Father of Fathers: Amerindian Symphony with Chorus) Symphony No. 11 Symphony No. 12 Uirapuru
Concertante	Cello Concerto No. 1 Cello Concerto No. 2 Fantasia for saxophone, three horns, and strings Guitar Concerto Piano Concerto No. 1 Piano Concerto No. 2 Piano Concerto No. 3 Piano Concerto No. 4 Piano Concerto No. 5
Chamber music	Nonet String Quartet No. 1 String Quartet No. 2 String Quartet No. 3 String Quartet No. 4 String Quartet No. 5 String Quartet No. 6 String Quartet No. 7 String Quartet No. 8 String Quartet No. 9 String Quartet No. 10 String Quartet No. 11 String Quartet No. 12 String Quartet No. 13 String Quartet No. 14 String Quartet No. 15 String Quartet No. 16 String Quartet No. 17
Piano works	A prole do bebe Rudepoêma
Works for guitar solo	Chôros No. 1 Étude No. 1 Étude No. 2 Étude No. 3 Étude No. 4 Étude No. 5 Étude No. 6 Étude No. 7 Étude No. 8 Étude No. 9 Étude No. 10 Étude No. 11 Étude No. 12 Prelude No. 1 in E minor Prelude No. 2 in E major Prelude No. 3 in A minor Prelude No. 4 in E minor Prelude No. 5 in D major Suite populaire brésilienne
Other compositions	Bachianas Brasileiras Introdução aos Chôros Chôros No. 2 Chôros No. 3 Chôros No. 4 Chôros No. 5 Chôros No. 7 Chôros bis Quinteto (em forma de chôros) The Little Train of the Caipira
Film score	Green Mansions
Related articles	Modern classical guitar Music of Brazil
Category