Gerald Plain

 
Present Activity:

UPDATE on my opera:    

I rejoice in having completed my two-hour opera, Polly, Pretty Polly, based on the 300-year old murder-ballad of Pretty Polly.  It has been labor intensive and is spread out over 500 score pages.  It will be interesting to see what direction this creation takes in the world of opera.

The libretto, by Sena Jeter Naslund, is precise, evocative, and engaging in its handling of the flow of the narrative.  The larger picture:  Act 1, The woodland introduction of five very different characters, each with blossoming hopes or stealthy plans,  Act 2, The convergence of the characters and villagers at a dance; Polly’s disappearance; [Intermission]  Act 3, In the nighttime woods, the searching for, seduction, and murder of Polly, Act 4, The court in the woods where Willie is tried for the murder of Pretty Polly, plus a Coda.

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A select number of my scores are on view at the Music and Dance Library; School of Music; Ohio State University; Columbus, Ohio

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Sena Naslund and I are in serious thought about our next opera project.    This is what I can inform you about it.  We can go in two different directions.  One could be based on Sena’s novel, "Four Spirits."  Or, it could be a comic opera based on a little known episode in Abraham Lincoln’s life.  

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Presently, I am working over an earlier composition written in 1980.  I am going to rename it “Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra.” 

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For a period of eight years most all of my music was published by the Oxford University Press.  At this time I enjoyed and respected the professional advice of their staff member, Jeffrey A. Bishop.