Scalia/Ginsburg
{{short description|2015 comic opera by Derrick Wang}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2020}}
{{Infobox opera
| name = Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions
| genre_header = Comic opera
| image =
| image_upright =
| caption =
| librettist = Derrick Wang
| composer = Derrick Wang
| language = English
| premiere_date = {{Start date|2015|07|11|df=y}}
| premiere_location = Castleton Festival
}}
Scalia/Ginsburg is a 2015 comic opera (revised in 2017) by composer-librettist Derrick Wang about the relationship between United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.{{Cite news|date=2019-09-19|title=Justice Ginsburg Explains the 'Scalia/Ginsburg' Opera|work=The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LNzQ-wIgBs}} Called "a dream come true" by Justice Ginsburg, the opera has been broadcast nationally on the radio in the United States,{{Cite web|date=2020-11-06|title=An Opera Without Precedent: Derrick Wang's US Supreme Court Comic Opera Scalia/Ginsburg|url=https://www.wfmt.com/2020/11/06/an-opera-without-precedent-derrick-wangs-us-supreme-court-comic-opera-scalia-ginsburg/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=WFMT|language=en-US}} produced in the United States and internationally,{{Cite web|date=2021-03-29|title=Chautauqua Opera Company Celebrates Versatility, Creativity in 2021 Season|url=https://chq.org/announcements/chautauqua-opera-company-celebrates-versatility-creativity-in-2021-season/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Chautauqua Institution|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Event – Scalia/Ginsburg: An Opera by Derrick Wang and Across the Aisle: A Panel Discussion on Justice and Jurisprudence|url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/events/across-the-aisle-scalia-ginsburg|access-date=2021-06-03|website=The Wheeler Centre|language=en}} and featured on Live with Carnegie Hall.{{Cite web|date=2020-11-19|title=Live with Carnegie Hall: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAM3qO_POLk&t=2902s|website=YouTube}}
Background
{{multiple image
| width = 150
| footer =
| image1 = Antonin_Scalia_Official_SCOTUS_Portrait.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Antonin Scalia
| image2 = Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_2016_portrait.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Ruth Bader Ginsburg
}}
The comic opera is about the relationship between Supreme Court of the United States Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.{{Cite news|last=Bravin|first=Jess|date=2014-12-02|title=How Do You Solve a Problem Like Scalia? Set His Dissents to Music|language=en-US|page=A1|work=Wall Street Journal|publication-date=2014-12-03|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-scalia-set-his-dissents-to-music-1417559938|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0099-9660}} The work balances the personalities of the two justices, Scalia's bombastic temperament versus Ginsburg's more demure nature,{{Cite web|last=Totenberg|first=Nina|date=2015-07-10|title=Judicial Differences Take Center Stage In 'Scalia V. Ginsburg'|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/07/10/421826402/judicial-differences-take-center-stage-in-scalia-v-ginsburg|access-date=2020-02-16|website=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR}} reflects their public disagreements versus their private friendship,{{Cite news|date=2015-10-08|title=Antonin Scalia Serenades Ruth Bader Ginsburg Over Gay Marriage With Bob Dylan Song|work=HuffPost|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scalia-ginsburg-dylan_n_5616629be4b0dbb8000d3344|access-date=2020-02-16}} and highlights their shared love of opera.{{Cite web|last=Cox|first=Chelsey|title=Fact check: It's true, Ginsburg and Scalia were close friends despite ideological differences|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/09/27/fact-check-ruth-bader-ginsburg-antonin-scalia-were-close-friends/3518592001/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last=Totenberg|first=Nina|date=2013-07-10|title=Scalia V. Ginsburg: Supreme Court Sparring, Put to Music|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200137481/scalia-v-ginsburg-supreme-court-sparring-put-to-music|access-date=2020-02-16}} The two justices often dined and attended the opera together,{{Cite news|last=Biskupic|first=Joan|author-link=Joan Biskupic|date=2009-08-24|title=Ginsburg, Scalia Strike a Balance|work=USA Today|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-12-25-ginsburg-scalia_N.htm|access-date=2020-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117165453/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-12-25-ginsburg-scalia_N.htm|archive-date=January 17, 2008}} and performed as supernumeraries in a 1994 Washington National Opera production of Ariadne auf Naxos.{{Cite web|last=Ginsburg|first=Ruth Bader|date=2015-07-13|title=My First Opera|url=https://medium.com/@OPERAAmerica/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-and-justice-antonin-scalia-as-supernumeraries-in-washington-national-2d802e1d6f95|access-date=2020-07-23|website=Opera America|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722050727/https://medium.com/@OPERAAmerica/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-and-justice-antonin-scalia-as-supernumeraries-in-washington-national-2d802e1d6f95|url-status=dead}}
= Composition history =
Wang, a composer and dramatist with music degrees from Harvard and Yale, was a law student when he started writing the opera.{{Cite journal|last1=Scalia|first1=Antonin|last2=Ginsburg|first2=Ruth Bader|date=2015|title=Prefaces to Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions|url=https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/article/view/2118|journal=The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts|language=en|volume=38|issue=2|pages=237|doi=10.7916/jla.v38i2.2118|issn=2161-9271}} Inspired by Ginsburg and Scalia's differing opinions, close friendship, and mutual passion for opera, he decided to dramatize their relationship in operatic form.{{Cite web|date=2013-09-04|title=Stealth Lawyer: Derrick Wang, Composer & Pianist|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ubv6m-c7dg|access-date=2020-11-02|website=YouTube|publisher=Bloomberg Law}} In 2013, he presented excerpts before Ginsburg and Scalia at the Supreme Court.{{Cite web|date=2016-04-14|title=Scalia and Ginsburg on Broadway|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opEVvTiuStU|access-date=2020-11-02|website=YouTube|publisher=TEDxBroadway}}
= Title =
When asked why Scalia's name appeared first in the title Scalia/Ginsburg, Ginsburg explained not only that it "sounds better" but also that everything at the Court is done by seniority.{{Cite web|title=Big Brains podcast: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg On Polarization, Discrimination and Her Favorite Dissent|url=https://news.uchicago.edu/podcasts/big-brains/supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-polarization-discrimination|access-date=2020-11-02|website=news.uchicago.edu|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2014-08-04|title=Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Discusses the 2013-14 Term|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQoxTxwNbsM&t=36m14s|access-date=2020-11-02|website=YouTube|publisher=Duke University School of Law}}{{Cite web|title=Justices Ginsburg and Scalia: An Unlikely Bond|url=https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/justices-ginsburg-and-scalia-unlikely-bond-0|access-date=2020-11-02|website=gwtoday.gwu.edu|language=en}}
Style
Wang described the opera's underlying concept as "operatic precedent," by which the words and music consistently cite legal and operatic sources in the manner of a court opinion.{{Cite web|last=Jackson|first=L. Jay|date=2013-12-01|title=Opera based on Justices Ginsburg and Scalia is written by attorney|url=https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/opera_based_on_justices_ginsburg_and_scalia_is_written_by_attorney|access-date=2020-11-02|website=ABA Journal|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Pentreath|first=Rosie|date=2020-09-21|title=Ruth Bader Ginsburg's love of opera transcended politics...and fuelled an unexpected friendship|url=https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/opera/ruth-bader-ginsburg-antonin-scalia-friendship/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Classic FM|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Ginsburg|first=Ruth Bader|title=A Love Supreme for Ruth Bader Ginsburg|url=http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-2015/opera-a-love-supreme-for-bader-ginsburg.html|access-date=2020-11-02|website=AARP|language=en}} For example, Scalia enters singing a rage aria, whose 18th-century traditions reflect Scalia's originalism, but Ginsburg's first song evolves from opera to jazz to gospel and pop to reflect her philosophy of the evolving Constitution.{{Cite news|last=Langer|first=Emily|date=2013-10-04|title=Derrick Wang Discusses 'Scalia/Ginsburg,' His Opera about the Supreme Court Justices|language=en-US|page=E5|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/derrick-wang-discusses-scaliaginsburg-his-opera-about-the-supreme-court-justices/2013/10/03/7ec92c2a-2624-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web|last=Sherman|first=Mark|date=2013-08-06|title=Scalia and Ginsburg inspire a new opera, 'Scalia/Ginsburg'|url=https://www.salon.com/2013/08/06/work_of_scalia_ginsburg_inspiration_for_new_opera_ap/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Salon|publisher=Associated Press|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Galanes|first=Philip|date=2015-11-14|title=Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem on the Unending Fight for Women's Rights|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/fashion/ruth-bader-ginsburg-and-gloria-steinem-on-the-unending-fight-for-womens-rights.html|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Richter|first=Nicolas|title=Hört! Hört! Hört|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/supreme-court-hoert-hoert-hoert-1.2499256|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Süddeutsche.de|date=May 29, 2015 |language=de}} Wang's narrative mixes constitutional theory (originalism versus living constitutionalism) with important decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court,{{Cite news|last=Kennicott|first=Philip|date=2015-07-12|title=Scalia/Ginsburg: An affectionate comic opera look at the high court|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/comic-supreme-court-opera-an-affectionate-look-at-justices/2015/07/12/b2cc9c9a-28ad-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html|access-date=2020-02-16|issn=0190-8286}} and includes references to McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Morrison v. Olson (1988), and Bush v. Gore (2000). The music mixes the compositional styles of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, and Bellini with "Verdi, Puccini, Christmas carols, 'The Star-Spangled Banner', and jazz."
Performance history
The opera premiered at the Castleton Festival in Virginia on July 11, 2015, with Ginsburg attending;{{Cite news|last=Edgers|first=Geoff|date=2015-07-08|title=From 'rage aria' to 'lovely duet,' opera does justice to court, Ginsburg says|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/from-rage-aria-to-lovely-duet-opera-does-justice-to-court-ginsburg-says/2015/07/08/1a8079a2-2515-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e_story.html|access-date=2020-10-28|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite news|last=Heil|first=Emily|title='Scalia/Ginsburg' opera draws VIPs of the legal world|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2015/07/20/scaliaginsburg-opera-draws-vips-of-the-legal-world/|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite news|date=2020-09-23|title=Diva dissenter: Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18th|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2020/09/23/ruth-bader-ginsburg-died-on-september-18th|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0013-0613}} the opera had two more performances there.{{Cite web|last=Gallagher|first=Nicholas M.|date=2015-08-06|title=Opera Dicta|url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/08/06/opera-dicta/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=The American Interest|language=en-US}} A revised version{{Cite web|title=Composing the Law: An Interview with Derrick Wang, Creator of the Scalia/Ginsburg Opera|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law/publications/landslide/2019-20/january-february/composing-law-interview-derrick-wang-creator-the-scaliaginsburg-opera/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=www.americanbar.org|language=en}} premiered at the Glimmerglass Festival in New York on August 4, 2017, with tenor William Burden in the role of Scalia and mezzo-soprano Mary Beth Nelson as Ginsburg;{{Cite web|title=Opera Notes by Alexis Greene: Scalia/Ginsburg shouldn't be missed|url=https://www.coopercrier.com/opinion/opera-notes-by-alexis-greene-scalia-ginsburg-shouldnt-be-missed/article_08a73344-1c9b-59d5-801e-e40187dbb8e9.html|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Cooperstown Crier|date=August 10, 2017 |language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Waleson|first=Heidi|date=2017-08-16|title=The New Faces of Opera|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-faces-of-opera-1502916055|access-date=2020-10-28|issn=0099-9660}} Justice Ginsburg attended the final performance.{{Cite web|last=Sohre|first=James|date=2017-08-23|title=Glimmerglass Being Judgmental|url=http://www.operatoday.com/content/2017/08/glimmerglass_be.php|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Opera Today}} During the 2018 U.S. midterm election season, Opera North produced Scalia/Ginsburg in venues including Saint Anselm College.{{Cite web|date=2018-09-05|title=Opera North Schedules a Sharp-Edged, Contemporary Production|url=https://www.vnews.com/Opera-North-performs-Scalia-Ginsburg-at-Briggs-Opera-House-19951066|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Valley News}}{{Cite web|date=2018-10-02|title=Opera Preview: "Scalia/Ginsburg" - Mining (and Minding) the Political Gap|url=https://artsfuse.org/174230/opera-preview-ginsburg-scalia-mining-and-minding-the-political-gap/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=The Arts Fuse|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Writer|first=Jim Lowe Staff|title=Opera North's 'Scalia/Ginsburg': A much more fun look at the Supreme Court|url=https://www.timesargus.com/features/vermont_arts/opera-north-s-scalia-ginsburg-a-much-more-fun-look-at-the-supreme-court/article_f8ce14de-f18e-59a6-852d-dc8e76d0dac7.html|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Times Argus|date=October 6, 2018 |language=en}} Additional productions include those by Opera Delaware,{{Cite web|last=Dohony|first=Erin|title=OperaDelaware presents 'Trial by Jury' and 'Scalia/Ginsburg'|url=https://www.broadstreetreview.com/theatermusic/operadelaware-presents-trial-by-jury-and-scalia-ginsburg|access-date=2020-10-28|website=www.broadstreetreview.com|archive-date=October 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017084937/https://www.broadstreetreview.com/theatermusic/operadelaware-presents-trial-by-jury-and-scalia-ginsburg|url-status=dead}} Opera Naples,{{Cite web|last=Heithaus|first=Harriet Howard|title=Opera Naples takes its case for opera to the Supreme Court — just after 'Boheme'|url=https://www.naplesnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/06/14/opera-naples-nabs-edgy-supreme-court-opera-boheme/1262489001/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Naples News|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Heithaus|first=Harriet Howard|title=Ginsburg, Scalia make for unique, funny opera in Naples|url=https://www.naplesnews.com/story/life/2020/01/20/ginsburg-scalia-opera-something-different-see-weekend-naples/4433219002/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Naples News|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Heithaus|first=Harriet Howard|title=Naples Opera strikes gold with a double bill of 'Trial by Jury,' 'Scalia/Ginsburg'|url=https://www.naplesnews.com/story/life/2020/01/26/opera-naples-pioneers-trial-jury-scalia-ginsburg/4532506002/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Naples News|language=en-US}} Opera Carolina,{{Cite web|date=2020-03-07|title=SCALIA/GINSBURG|url=https://www.fox46.com/good-day/scalia-ginsburg/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=FOX 46 Charlotte|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2020-03-10|title=Opera Carolina Presents Scalia/Ginsburg|url=https://qclife.wbtv.com/opera-carolina-presents-scalia-ginsburg/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=QC Life|language=en-US|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031124733/https://qclife.wbtv.com/opera-carolina-presents-scalia-ginsburg/|url-status=dead}} Opera Grand Rapids,{{Cite web|last=Salazar|first=David|date=2020-03-17|title=Opera Grand Rapids 2020 Review: Scalia / Ginsburg|url=https://operawire.com/opera-grand-rapids-2020-review-scalia-ginsburg/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=Opera Wire|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Kissane|first=John|date=2020-03-16|title=Art in the Time of COVID-19: Scalia/Ginsburg at Opera Grand Rapids|url=http://therapidian.org/art-time-covid-19-scaliaginsburg-opera-grand-rapids|access-date=2020-11-02|website=The Rapidian|language=en-US}} Opera Memphis,{{Cite web|date=2021-06-01|title=Scalia/Ginsburg to take the stage at Germantown Performing Arts Center|url=https://wreg.com/on-air/live-at-9/scalia-ginsburg-to-take-the-stage-at-germantown-performing-arts-center/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=WREG News Channel 3|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-05-18|title=Opera Memphis Presents SCALIA/GINSBURG|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Opera-Memphis-Presents-SCALIAGINSBURG-20210518|access-date=2021-06-03|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en}} Chautauqua Opera,{{Cite web|date=2021-05-25|title=Opera Chat: "Scalia/Ginsburg" with Cara Consilvio & Derrick Wang|url=https://porch.chq.org/re/event/499/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Chautauqua Institution}}{{Cite web|last=Kwiatkowski|first=David|date=2021-07-09|title=A Supreme chorus: Chautauqua Opera opens season with 'Scalia/Ginsburg'|url=https://chqdaily.com/2021/07/a-supreme-chorus-chautauqua-opera-opens-season-with-scalia-ginsburg/|access-date=2022-01-31|website=The Chautauquan Daily|language=en-US}} and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s Princeton Festival,{{Cite web|last=Cristi|first=A. A.|date=2022-01-26|title=All-New, Outdoor Princeton Festival In The Works For June 10-25, 2022|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/new-jersey/article/All-New-Outdoor-Princeton-Festival-In-The-Works-For-June-10-25-2022-20220126|access-date=2022-01-31|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en}} in venues ranging from the Clinton Presidential Center{{Cite web|last=Harrison|first=Eric E.|date=2021-08-28|title=Singers do 'justice' to 'Scalia/Ginsburg' as Opera in the Rock opens season|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/aug/28/singers-do-justice-to-scaliaginsburg-as-opera-in/|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Arkansas Online|language=en}} to the Holocaust Museum Houston.{{Cite web|last=Downing|first=Margaret|date=2021-09-16|title=Opera in the Heights Embarks on an In-Person and Digital 2021-22 Season|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/the-2021-22-season-for-opera-in-the-heights-11894036|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Houston Press|language=en}}
The 2019 Opera Delaware production, with soprano Jennifer Zetlan in the role of Ginsburg, was broadcast on radio in the United States and streamable internationally on November 7, 2020, on the WFMT Radio Network.{{Cite web|title=OD Radio Broadcasts: Trial by Jury & Scalia/Ginsburg|url=https://www.operade.org/radio|access-date=2020-11-02|website=OperaDelaware|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Cruickshank|first=Saralyn|date=2020-11-06|title=Forging friendships across political divides|url=https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/11/06/derrick-wang-scalia-ginsburg-opera/|access-date=2020-11-06|website=The Hub|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Obenreder|first=Gail|date=2020-11-04|title=OperaDelaware to run timely comic billing of 'Scalia/Ginsburg' and 'Trial by Jury'|url=https://www.broadstreetreview.com/wnwn/operadelaware-streams-timely-comic-billing-of-scalia-ginsburg-and-trial-by|access-date=2020-11-06|website=Broad Street Review|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Scalia/Ginsburg/Wang: An Opera and Conversation about Forging Friendship across Ideological Divides|url=https://snfagora.jhu.edu/event/scalia-ginsburg-wang/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins}}{{Cite web|date=2018-04-09|title=OperaDelaware {{!}} Programs|url=https://radionetwork.wfmt.com/programs/operadelaware/|access-date=2020-10-15|website=WFMT Radio Network}}{{Cite web|last=Dobrin|first=Peter|title=Philadelphia's opera community pours its love for Ruth Bader Ginsburg|url=https://www.inquirer.com/arts/ruth-bader-ginsburg-supreme-court-opera-denyce-graves-20200922.html|access-date=2020-10-15|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 22, 2020 }} In November 2020, Scalia/Ginsburg was featured on Live with Carnegie Hall, introduced by Metropolitan Opera star Isabel Leonard.{{Cite web|title=Live with Carnegie Hall: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg {{!}} Nov 19, 2020 at 7:30 PM|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2020/11/19/Live-with-Carnegie-Hall-Remembering-Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg-0730PM|access-date=2021-06-03|website=www.carnegiehall.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Salazar|first=David|date=2020-11-19|title=Brian Cheney, Jennifer Zetlan to Appear in 'Remembering RBG'|url=https://operawire.com/brian-cheney-jennifer-zetlan-to-appear-in-remembering-rgb/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=OperaWire|language=en-US}} In 2021, Scalia/Ginsburg received its Australian premiere by Orchestra Victoria at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in collaboration with the Wheeler Centre, conducted by Australian Ballet Chief Conductor Nicolette Fraillon.{{Cite web|title=Scalia/Ginsburg|url=https://www.shakespeareaustralia.com.au/shows/scalia-ginsburg|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Australian Shakespeare Company}}
Publication history
In 2015, the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts published an early version of the libretto containing over 200 footnotes to legal and musical sources.{{Cite journal|last=Wang|first=Derrick|date=2015-02-16|title=Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions|url=https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/article/view/2119|journal=The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts|language=en|volume=38|issue=2|pages=239–292|doi=10.7916/jla.v38i2.2119|issn=2161-9271}} Both justices wrote forewords to the libretto. One chapter of Ginsburg's 2016 book My Own Words consists of excerpts from the libretto,{{Cite book|last=Ginsburg|first=Ruth Bader|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/946693458|title=My Own Words|publisher=Simon & Schuster|others=Hartnett, Mary; Williams, Wendy W.|year=2016|isbn=978-1-5011-4524-7|edition=1st|location=New York, NY|pages=43–55, 341–350|oclc=946693458}}{{Cite web|last=Chemerinsky|first=Erwin|date=2016-11-08|title=Book Review: My Own Words|url=http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/bookreview/my-own-words|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Washington Independent Review of Books}} narrated and performed by Wang in the audiobook.{{Citation|last=Ginsburg|first=Ruth Bader|title=My Own Words [audiobook]|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/949219733|pages=Disc 2, Track 3|no-pp=y|others=Hartnett, Mary; Williams, Wendy; Lavin, Linda|isbn=978-1-5082-2628-4|oclc=949219733|access-date=2020-11-02}}{{Cite web|last=Donahue|first=Joe|date=2020-09-21|title=Composer Derrick Wang Discusses His Opera 'Scalia/Ginsburg'|url=https://www.wamc.org/post/composer-derrick-wang-discusses-his-opera-scaliaginsburg|access-date=2020-11-02|website=WAMC|language=en-US}} Ginsburg quoted the opera in her statement on Scalia's death{{Cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Pete|last2=Fieldstadt|first2=Elisha|date=2016-02-14|title=Read Justice Ginsburg's Touching Tribute to Scalia: 'We Were Best Buddies'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-justice-antonin-scalia-we-were-best-n518671|access-date=2020-11-02|website=NBC News|language=en-US}} and cited it in her foreword to the book Scalia Speaks.{{Cite book|last=Scalia|first=Antonin|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/993996596|title=Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|others=Scalia, Christopher J.; Whelan, Edward|year=2017|isbn=978-0-525-57332-6|location=New York|pages=x-xi|oclc=993996596}} In 2022, Justice Ginsburg's copy of the Scalia/Ginsburg libretto with a one-page autograph manuscript of her handwritten notes was sold at auction for over USD$10,000.{{Cite web|last=Tarmy|first=James|date=2022-01-04|title=Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Private Library Is Coming to Auction|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-04/ruth-bader-ginsburg-s-private-library-is-coming-to-auction|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Bloomberg}}{{Cite web|date=2022-01-27|title=The Library of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg / Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Autograph Notes on Opera and Law|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27540/lot/61/ruth-bader-ginsburgs-autograph-notes-on-opera-and-law-autograph-manuscript-notes-on-opera-and-law/|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Bonhams|language=en}}
In popular culture
On The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew Barrymore said of Scalia/Ginsburg, “When I read the words to this [opera], I had an incredible revelation…and it gave me so much hope.”{{Cite web|date=2020-09-21|title=Drew's News: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tribute|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD5MX-B47AE&t=123s|website=The Drew Barrymore Show}}
In an interview with the U.S. Copyright Office, filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen credited Scalia/Ginsburg as an influence on their documentary RBG.{{Cite web|date=2021-02-17|title=The Enduring Copyright Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01AVM72y9HM&t=3060s|website=U.S. Copyright Office}}
Roles and their creators
- Ellen Wieser (soprano) as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg{{Cite web|last=Lat|first=David|author-link=David Lat|title=ATL Opera Review: Scalia/Ginsburg|date=July 16, 2015|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2015/07/atl-opera-review-scaliaginsburg/|access-date=2020-02-16|publisher=Above the Law}}
- John Overholt (tenor) as Justice Antonin Scalia
- Adam Cioffari (bass-baritone) as the Commentator
| class="wikitable"
!Role !World premiere cast !Revised version !Radio broadcast |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
|soprano or mezzo-soprano |Ellen Wieser |Mary Beth Nelson |
| Justice Antonin Scalia
|John Overholt |Brian Cheney |
| The Commentator
|Adam Cioffari |Brent Michael Smith |Ben Wager |
Synopsis
The opera starts in the Supreme Court Building with Scalia confronted in the courtroom by the "Commentator". The Commentator has supernatural powers and seals the room, stating "No man shall enter." Once the room is sealed, Scalia is forced to defend his approach to the law and may only escape by passing three trials. Ginsburg, not a man, breaks into the courtroom to defend her friend Scalia and insists on taking the trials alongside him. The opera ends after the two undergo the trials together.
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite news| first = Mark | last = Swed | date = 2015-07-13 | url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-scalia-ginsburg-notebook-20150713-column.html | title =Scalia/Ginsburg opera underscores how opposites can be in harmony | work = Los Angeles Times|ref=none}}
- {{Cite journal|first=Derrick |last=Wang |date=16 February 2015 |title=Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions |url=https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/article/view/2119 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624020914/https://lawandarts.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/02/5-38.2-Wangupdated3.4.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2015 |url-status=live |access-date=16 August 2020 |journal=Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts|volume=38|number=2|doi=10.7916/jla.v38i2.2119 |pages=239–292|ref=none}}
External links
- {{Official|http://www.derrickwang.com/scalia-ginsburg}}
- [https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/article/view/2119/1071 Libretto] (PDF), Columbia University Libraries
- {{YouTube|opEVvTiuStU|Derrick Wang on Scalia/Ginsburg}}, TEDx
- {{YouTube|9LNzQ-wIgBs|Justice Ginsburg Explains the Scalia/Ginsburg Opera|link=no}}
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Category:English-language operas
Category:Operas set in the 20th century
Category:Operas about politicians
Category:Operas based on real people