Greetings, Forumers!

On August 14th and 20th there will be opportunities to see the world premiere of Harmony, an operatic collaboration of novelist Russell Banks and composer Robert Carl of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music. This work, featuring Mark Twain, the Twichells, and Charles Ives, has been in progress on and off for a couple of decades.

The performance will be available both virtually and in person – the in-person version at the Seagle Festival in the Adirondack town of Schroon Lake, New York; the virtual version wherever you might be. (The festival is associated with a music colony for vocal work that has existed since 1915.)

The opera concerns a meeting between Twain and Ives.  Ives, you may recall, married Joe and Harmony Twichell’s daughter, also called Harmony. According to a family story, Mark was brought in to vet the prospective son-in-law. Banks calls the opera “a Mozartian romance” and confesses he and Carl play a little fast and loose with history.

Again, Saturday, August 14th, and Friday, August 20th, at 7:30 EDT. Information and links to an opera synopsis and tickets ($25 virtual, $35 in person) are here: https://seaglefestival.org/harmony-a-world-premiere-opera/

While for now the opera can only be viewed live at those specific times, the Seagle people say that it will be available on-demand in the fall for those whose time zones or schedules make viewing difficult.

Best,

Steve

Steve Courtney, Curatorial Volunteer
The Mark Twain House & Museum
351 Farmington Avenue
Hartford, Connecticut 06105
860-302-8969