ROBERT ALDRIDGE (b.1954): Sister Carrie.

Description: Aldridge's opera is a distinguished entry in the canon of totally accessible, unabashedly tonal modern American operas epitomised by the works of Carlisle Floyd and encompassing those of Jake Heggie, Mark Adamo, Dominick Argento and a good number of others. Based on Theodore Dreiser's famous (at the time of publication, notorious, for failing to be sufficiently censorious of the eponymous young woman, upwardly mobile at the expense of her male lovers) novel, this is an ideal operatic subject, character-driven with a cast of strongly delineated principals and the potential for a narrative expressed through a succession of arias and ensemble pieces. The composer's melodic gift is never in doubt in the emotionally compelling arias and duets given to the ascendent Carrie and the relentlessly self-destructive Hurstwood, and the work's drama is conveyed through Herschel Garfein's expertly paced libretto and Aldridge's original and richly orchestrated neo-romantic score. 2 CDs. Libretto included. Adriana Zabala (mezzo), Keith Phares (baritone), Matt Morgan (tenor), Alisa Suzanne Jordheim (soprano), Florentine Opera Chorus and Company, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; William Boggs.