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Copland, Aaron
The Second Hurricane
(1936)A play opera in two acts for school performance
Duration: 53 minutes
English
Deutsch
Music Text
Libretto by Edwin Denby (E)
Scoring
2S,A,2T,Bar,B,3adult speakers; mixed chorus
1(=picc).1.2.asax(=tsax).1-0.2.1.0-timp.perc:susp.cym/cyms/SD/BD/
glsp/xyl/tgl/tam-t-pft-musical saw(or theremin)-strings
Abbreviations (PDF)
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes
for the world.
Availability
World Premiere
4/21/1937At The Playhouse, 466 Grand Street, New York, NY
Orson Welles, director
Conductor: Lehman Engel
Company: Music School of the Henry Street Settlement
Roles
| BUTCH, a new kid in town | Tenor |
| FAT, a bully | Bass |
| GYP, Fat's younger brother | Baritone |
| LOWRIE, egghead | Tenor |
| GWEN, resolute | Contralto |
| QUEENIE, head of the class | Soprano |
| JEFF, a black country boy | Soprano |
| MR. MACLENAHAN, Butch's father | speaking role |
| MISS EULALIE, the central telephone operator | speaking role |
| Chorus of high school pupils | |
| Chorus of parents | |
| Chorus of grammar school pupils |
Time and Place
1930s, the Southeastern United States
Synopsis
The Second Hurricane is a parable set in the years after the Great Depression in middle America. Recruited to help with the rescue effort after a hurricane hits, a group of high school students become stranded themselves. Marooned on Two-Willow Hill, as the flood waters rise around them, they are at first reluctant to act together as a team. During the course of the opera, they gradually learn to work together, not only for survival but for true freedom.
Moods
Dramatic
Subjects
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