Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Four Little Chests All In A Row
2. Laurie - The Very Same, Madam
3. Couldn't I Un-bake The Breads
4. Barrister! It's A Quarter Past!
5. Again We Meet To Celebrate
6. Major, Minor
7. Socks!
8. Supper, Half An Hour!
9. Madness. No. Mania No.
10. Rigmarole? It's Another Game.
11. There Was a Knight Once
12. Oh, This Cannot be Borne.
13. She That IS Down Need Fear No Fall
14. Our Own Fanny Mendelssohn
15. Mr. John Brooke, Laurie's Tutor
16. Long May Our Comrades Prosper Well
17. Things Change Jo
18. I Understand. You're Leaving Us
19. Aunt? Now, I Haven't Done Any Shading Yet
20. We Stand Together on the old
21. Jupiter Ammon! The Poetry!
22. We Stand Together On This Old/New Day
23. Don't Dare Suggest It, Laurie

Disc 2:

1. Cockling? Cackling?
2. Drizzling In New York
3. But That's Why I Loved It! So Lurid and Preposterous
4. Kennst Du Das Land, Wo Die Zitronen Bluhn?
5. Do You Know The Land Where The Lemon Trees Bloom?
6. It's Lovely. My Father Swears By Him
7. She's Asked For You
8. Have Peace Jo
9. She Who Is Down Need Fear No Fall
10. That's The Problem With Solitaire: You Always Need A King
11. My. Jo, Beyond Measure, Mother!
12. She Sounds Very Happy. I Hope Laurie Feels The Same
13. You, Alone: A Mansion Of Stone
14. So The Days Go By, And The Summers Fly
15. Let Me Look At You

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87954 in Music
• Released on: 2001-08-28
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Mark Adamo's transfer of the Louisa May Alcott novel to the opera stage is an artistic and commercial success. It's been scheduled by numerous opera companies, and this Houston Grand Opera production drew a large audience to its PBS broadcast. The success is due to Adamo's sense of the lyric theatre--his sharply focused libretto that clarifies both story line and the narrative's meaning, and his accessible yet sophisticated music.

Little Women is about change and letting go of the past. This theme and the dramatic conflict it engenders are beautifully encapsulated in two fine Act I scenes: Jo's "Look at us, Laurie: we're perfect as we are," and Meg's aria, "Things change." Adamo's music is equal to the challenge of his ambitious agenda. The 18-piece orchestra sounds bigger than it is, perhaps because it's always active, moving the story along on its own or commenting on the characters and action. Adamo writes big arias and unapologetically includes expressive coloratura passages. He even dares to write a Schubertian aria on the text of Goethe's "Kennst du das Land," repeating it (with variations) in English. And he injects some humor into the opera, as heard in the delightful scene of Brook's proposal to Meg, an arch snippet about surtitles, and Jo at the offices of a trashy tabloid. The singers are all first-rate, but the opera rises or falls on Jo, the kind of meaty part singers would kill for. Stephanie Novak is marvelous here, singing with passion and projecting Jo's innocence as well as her journey to self-knowledge. Patrick Summers leads a definitive performance of the opera. The recording is drawn from live performances in March 2000. Ondine, a Finnish company, has done American music proud with this release. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Mesmerizing
OK, so I'm the last US listener to catch up with this piece. Wow. Amazing. Nothing extra, nothing missing--it's beautiful, but that's not what I'm writing about---listening to it is like being inside someone's heart. If you've ever thought you could make someone keep loving you through force of will...it's strange that something so "nostalgic" can feel so tough and aching at the same time--when Meg sings "I love you--things end," I thought my stomach would sink right out of my body. I really can't tell you if it's a "good" record or not from an audiophile POV. But I play it. A lot...Peace, Ellen

Most enjoyable
I bought this c.d. for my brother's birthday as he is a great fan of Joyce di Donato. He is very fussy about the quality of the recording and was delighted with this one.

Thank you, Mark Adamo!
I had the privilege of attending New York City Opera's production of this incredible work, and I have seldom been so moved. Obviously, the composer couldn't (and shouldn't) have included every single scene from the novel. What he did set, however, were some of the most touching and beautiful pages. Scenes that let us get to know these people, and care deeply about them, without needing to know their entire life stories. Maybe I'm too emotional (if there is such a thing), but I shed quite a few tears during this performance. Mark Adamo has written the finest opera of the last 50 years and more. Thank you, Mr. Adamo, for this magnificent work.
The recording is fine, as well, with a strong cast and good sound. A bargain at twice the price.