The Rose Elf (opera)
{{Short description|Opera by David Hertzberg}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox opera
| name = The Rose Elf
| composer = David Hertzberg
| image =
| language = English
| based_on = {{based on|The Elf of the Rose|Hans Christian Andersen}}
| premiere_date = {{Start date|2018|06|06|df=y}}
| premiere_location = {{Nowrap|Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn}}
}}
The Rose Elf is a one act chamber opera with music and libretto by David Hertzberg, based on the fairy tale The Elf of the Rose by Hans Christian Andersen. It premiered June 6, 2018, in the Catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City, in a production directed by R. B. Schlather and conducted by Teddy Poll.{{Cite news|last1=Lubow|first1=Arthur|author-link1=Arthur Lubow|date=2018-06-01|title=Is Opera Dying? No, But This One Is Staged Among the Dead|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/arts/music/rose-elf-green-wood-cemetery-opera.html|access-date=2021-03-06|issn=0362-4331}} The opera's debut recording was released October 31, 2020, by Meyer Media LLC (MM20044).{{Cite web|author=|title=David Hertzberg's Dark Chamber Opera The Rose Elf Set for Release on Halloween|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/David-Hertzbergs-Dark-Chamber-Opera-THE-ROSE-ELF-Set-for-Release-on-Halloween-20200916|access-date=2020-09-17|website=BroadwayWorld}}
Roles
| class="wikitable"
!Voice type{{cite web |url=http://www.davidhertzbergmusic.com/opera |title=Opera – David Hertzberg |website=davidhertzbergmusic.com |access-date=March 6, 2021}} !Premiere cast, |
| The Elf
|Samantha Hankey |
| The Girl/Luna
|Alisa Jordheim |
| The Beloved/Horus
|Kyle Bielfield |
| The Brother
|Andrew Bogard |
Instrumentation
Clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, bass.
Critical reception
Of the premiere, the Observer wrote, "just about everything you want opera to be. The Rose Elf shocked, confounded, disturbed, and, in the end, exalted."{{Cite web|date=2018-06-11|title=New Opera The Rose Elf Offers Morbid Enchantment|url=https://observer.com/2018/06/opera-review-david-hertzberg-the-rose-elf-is-morbidly-enchanting/|access-date=2020-09-17|website=Observer}}
Following the premiere, WQXR named it the 'Opera Event of the Half Year', saying, "Hertzberg is a masterful dramatist... this one signals the arrival of a major compositional personality."{{Cite web|title=The Best Concerts of 2018 (So Far) {{!}} WQXR Editorial|url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/best-2018-so-far-concerts-david-patrick-stearns|access-date=2020-09-17|website=WQXR}}
Opera News called the work, "a compelling and welcome addition to the operatic canon."{{Cite magazine|title=Review: The Rose Elf|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2018/9/Reviews/BROOKLYN__The_Rose_Elf.html|access-date=2020-09-17|author=Arlo McKinnon|magazine=Opera News|volume=83|number=3|date=September 2018}}
The Rose Elf was subsequently named among 'New York's Most Memorable Concerts of 2018'{{Cite web|title=New York's Most Memorable Concerts of 2018 {{!}} WQXR Editorial|url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/new-york-most-memorable-concerts-2018-david-patrick-stearns-classical|access-date=2020-09-17|website=WQXR}} and awarded Operavore's 'Freddie' Award for Best New Opera{{Cite web|title=The Sixth Annual Excellence in Opera (aka The Freddie) Awards {{!}} Operavore|url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/sixth-annual-excellence-opera-freddie-awards-fred-plotkin|access-date=2020-09-17|website=WQXR}}
Recording
References
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{{Portal bar|Opera}}
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Category:English-language operas