World premiere recording of PRO’s acclaimed new production of Scott Joplin’s theatrical masterpiece.
2-CD set of the complete opera, with bonus tracks.
Includes a 116-page illustrated BOOK by Rick Benjamin and Chris Ware revealing astounding new discoveries about Scott Joplin and his creation of Treemonisha.
SCOTT JOPLIN’S “TREEMONISHA”: AN OPERA IN THREE ACTS (1911)
(New World Records 80720-2; 2 CDs):
Performed by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra & Singers, Rick Benjamin conductor;
Produced and engineered by Judith Sherman.
Featuring (in order of vocal appearance):
Edward Pleasant (Zodzetrick), AnnMarie Sandy (Monisha), Frank Ward, Jr. (Ned), Anita Johnson (Treemonisha), Chauncey Packer (Remus), Robert Mack (Andy), Janinah Burnett (Lucy), Darren Stokes (Parson Alltalk), Todd Payne (Simon), Phumzile Sojola (Cephus), and Frederick Jackson (Luddud).
DISC ONE (53:21)
ACT I
Overture.
The Bag of Luck.
The Corn-Huskers.
We’re Goin’ Around.
The Wreath.
The Sacred Tree.
Surprised.
Treemonisha’s Bringing Up.
Good Advice.
Confusion.
ACT II
Superstition.
Treemonisha in Peril.
Frolic of the Bears.
The Wasp-Nest.
The Rescue.
We Will Rest Awhile.
Going Home.
Aunt Dinah Has Blowed de Horn.
DISC TWO (45:46)
ACT III
Prelude to Act 3.
I Want to See My Child.
Treemonisha’s Return.
Wrong Is Never Right.
Abuse.
When Villains Ramble Far and Near.
Conjurers Forgiven.
We Will Trust You as Our Leader.
A Real Slow Drag.
Appendix:
Bowing Music on Themes from the Opera.
Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha Preface read by his closest living relative, Grandniece Mrs. LaErma White of Texarkana, Arkansas.
“Treemonisha as It Was Intended to Be” (headline) – The Wall Street Journal
(Read the Wall Street Journal‘s feature story on this new recording and its creation: “Treemonisha as It Was Intended to Be” by Barrymore Laurence Scherer.)
“This is the most important document about the history of American composed music to have appeared in a long, long time.” – Gramophone (“Editor’s Choice” album)
(Read the Gramophone‘s full review: “PRO’s Treemonisha” by Philip Clark.)
“…sweetly foursquare arias (Joplin’s libretto is touching and earnest) alternate with choruses that could make you weep with joy. There is nothing else like it, and Benjamin, aided by his excellent orchestra and singers, has finally made it whole.” – The New Yorker
(Read The New Yorker‘s full review: “Eleven for 2011” by Russell Platt.)
“It’s a project triumphantly realized, as these CDs reveal…their performance is wonderfully lively and incisive….The CD package is built as a hard-cover book…so informative and finely designed that it really ought to set a new benchmark.” – OPERA magazine
"Benjamin and his orchestra filled the second half of the evening with lilting, humorous, and even elegant readings of ragtime numbers, a W.C. Handy blues song, and even a Sousa march…Popular music, A.D. 1900, is still going strong." – Pasadena Star News
Kansas City Star
“This group is like a ragtime early music ensemble, striving to protect the integrity of this uniquely American musical genre.” – Kansas City Star
Fanfare 2
“…delightfully infectious. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and its dynamic director have found a winning formula for educating the public in the most enjoyable way…” – Fanfare magazine
LaCrosse Tribune
“The magical, musical time machine.” – La Crosse Tribune
Washington Post 2
“Summoning both the subtle interplay and brassy vitality these pieces demand, the PRO does itself proud.” – The Washington Post
Buffalo News
“The results were irresistible. Halfway through the opening Knock-Out Drops Rag, someone enthused audibly, ‘Gee, they’re terrific!’ She was right.” – Buffalo News
American Heritage
“…the twelve-member Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been touring the country in the ghostly footsteps of the thousands of ‘theater orchestras’ that once played in every hotel, vaudeville hall, and fair-sized restaurant. Few of them can have played with more bite and sparkle than the Paragon.” – American Heritage magazine
Gramophone
“…genteel melodic lines swim like fish through pure water.” – Gramophone magazine
BBC Music magazine
“superbly presented….prize-worthy.” – BBC Music magazine
American Music magazine
“… a deft, crisp, and energetic group…. one of the premiere forces in the reassertion of this repertoire in our musical consciousness.”
– American Music magazine
New York Times
“Best of all, the concert came off not as a dry musicological dig, but as an evening of…abidingly energetic fun.” – The New York Times
Wall Street Journal
“…protecting an important American treasure…not just be a pleasure to hear but for many a true revelation.” – The Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
“Vibrantly revived music.” – The Washington Post
Classics Today
“There’s plenty of variety here to give a representative sampling of some of the era’s finest pop music, and it’s all played with polish, authenticity, and all-out enthusiasm by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra under Rick Benjamin’s inspired direction.” – Classics Today
Fanfare magazine
“If PRO is not already labeled a national treasure it should be.” – Fanfare magazine
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Four Stars…The music is incomparably sweet and stirring. And Rick Benjamin, who founded and conducts the PRO, is a musician of wit and sensibility.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Denver Post
“To hear the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra play the compositions of Scott Joplin or Irving Berlin… is to hear the promise many Americans felt about the prospects for the U.S. a century ago.”
– Denver Post
The San Francisco Chronicle
"Ragtime and opera joined hands and danced together in the most joyous fashion at Stern Grove on Sunday afternoon, with a vigorous and utterly charming performance of Scott Joplin’s 'Treemonisha'…the score, superbly led by conductor Rick Benjamin, is a resourceful marvel….For this performance Benjamin…unveiled his new arrangement of 'Treemonisha' for the 11-piece Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. That lithe, pungent blend of strings, woodwinds and brass…gave the performance a lively grace that helped fill the sunny meadow to perfection.”
– The San Francisco Chronicle