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A Quiet Place

150

English

Synopsis

At the funeral of Dinah, the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family, her widowed husband Sam tries to reconcile with his two estranged children: his daughter Dede and his gay, schizophrenic son Junior. The drama that unfolds in the aftermath of the funeral exposes raw wounds and secrets, particularly the fact that Dede is now married to François, who is also Junior's ex-boyfriend. As the family attempts to deal with their pain and communicate after decades of bitterness, the opera weaves in a flashback of Bernstein's earlier work, Trouble in Tahiti, to reveal the origins of their unhappiness. The work ultimately ends on a fragile note of hope for reconciliation

Composer

Leonard Bernstein

Lyricist / Librettist / Playwright

Stephen Wadsworth

Year of composition/publication / premiere

1983

Genre

Opera

LGBTQAI+ category

Bisexual, Gay, Queer, Trans

Level of centrality

Main character

Characters

Junior (Sam's gay son), François (Junior's ex-boyfriend, later Dede's husband)

Voice type

Baritone, Tenor

Pronouns

he/him

Publisher / Rights holder

Boosey & Hawkes (see also Universal Music Publishing Editio Musica)

Where to buy / access the work

Performance materials are available for rental/purchase from Boosey & Hawkes and through sheet music retailers like J.W. Pepper (piano/vocal score).

Performance rights

For performance rights, please contact the composer and/or publisher to ensure legal compliance.