This recording of Shining Brow was made possible by a gift from an anonymous donor.
Composer Biography
Daron Hagen, the composer, worked on the second act of Shining Brow at home in New York and took it to several meetings with Leonard Bernstein, who offered critical feedback.
Compositional Technique
Composer Daron Hagen assigned each main character in the opera a 'home' key: Frank Lloyd Wright in B-flat major, Mamah Cheney in E major, Edwin Cheney and Louis Sullivan in A minor, and Catherine Wright in C major.
Critical Reception
Shining Brow has been popular with both audiences and critics, hailed as a masterpiece with fresh ideas and frequently performed.
Compositional Technique
The opera uses the tritone, a 'forbidden' interval, to associate the keys of the lovers, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney, a technique Leonard Bernstein used in West Side Story.
Composition History
Daron Hagen, the composer, was asked by Roland Johnson of the Madison Opera in 1989 to write an opera about Frank Lloyd Wright, leading him to collaborate with Paul Muldoon, the librettist.
Recording & Production
The recording was made live at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York, on November 4th and 5th, 2006.
