Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha”

$30.00

SCOTT JOPLIN’S  “TREEMONISHA”

An Opera in Three Acts

  • 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.
Category:

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