The Scarlet Letter (opera)
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The Scarlet Letter is an opera by Walter Damrosch, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name. The libretto was by George Parsons Lathrop, son-in-law of the author. The work is Wagnerian in style, Damrosch being a great enthusiast and champion of the composer. Excerpts from the opera first premiered at Carnegie Hall on January 4 and 5, 1895; the first fully staged performance was February 10, 1896 in Boston.[1] Among those present at the premiere were Charles Eliot Norton, Prince Serge Wolkonsky, Julia Ward Howe, and Nellie Melba.[2]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Concert premiere cast, January 4–5, 1895 (the composer conducting)[3] |
Full premiere cast, February 10, 1896 (the composer conducting)[2][4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman | soprano | Lillian Nordica | Johanna Gadski |
| Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, an eloquent young minister | tenor | William H. Rieger | Barron Berthold |
| Roger Chillingworth, Hester's husband | baritone | Giuseppe Campanari | Wilhelm Mertens |
| Rev. John Wilson, an elderly and revered minister | baritone | Ericsson F. Bushnell | Gerhard Stehmann |
| Governor Bellingham, governor of Boston | bass | Conrad Behrens | Conrad Behrens |
| Brackett, a jailer | bass | James F. Thomson | Julius von Putlitz |
| A Shipmaster | baritone | presumably Ericsson F. Bushnell | Gerhard Stehmann |
| Chorus: Puritans | |||
Differences from the novel
- Pearl, Hester's daughter, is absent.
- Instead of living a solitary life after Dimmesdale dies at the end, Hester takes poison and dies with him.[1]
