Our American Cousin
Our American Cousin is being presented by Live in Concert, Inc.,
a 501©(3) non-profit based in Western Massachusetts.
SPONSORS OF OUR AMERICAN COUSIN
PRESS REVIEWS:
‘Cousin’ opera recounts Lincoln assassination
NORTHAMPTON – In opera, anything can happen as long as you sing about it. In Eric Sawyer and John Shoptaw’s new opera “Our American Cousin,” the events immediately surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination were examined operatically through the eyes of the actors in the play the president came to Ford’s Theater to attend that fateful evening. The opera premiered Friday evening at the Academy of Music Theater. The production was superb, with excellent singing from the principals across the board…more
Clifton
J. Noble Jr.
The Republican
Big themes, big performances boost ‘Our American Cousin‘
…[Our American Cousin] has several passages where words and music come together exquisitely. One is the series of choruses in Act I, when the Ford’s Theatre audience turns and reforms into groups representing the war’s human aftermath – amputees, freedmen, nurses, carpetbaggers, etc., singing words culled from real diaries and letters. Here is Sawyer’s most beautiful music, drenched in a bittersweet chromaticism reminiscent of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. These, and a final chorus condemning the cycle of “blood for blood,” might well be packaged separately. They speak clearly to our day.
David Perkins, Boston Globe
Eric Sawyer’s Opera About Lincoln’s Assassination Premieres
…The work is overall an impressive achievement. The opening act is filled with a sense of dark intrigue and anticipation. The portion drawn from the original play, primarily in Act II, is light and entertaining. The final portion is more somber and contemplative…this work deserves many future productions because of its superior artistic, albeit highly intellectual qualities.
Marvin J. Ward, Classical Voice of New England
Audience Reviews from the staff “Many thanks for the opera tickets! The end of Act III haunted me all the way home…visions of Lincoln fading off stage, the music, the names of the battles… Our “…I really appreciated that I had the chance to go to an opera for the first time and I would like to thank you for the tickets. I brought my 10-year-old son and he really enjoyed it. He said he wants to see it again. Mateo, my son, would love to see “Our American Cousin” come out on Dvd so that he could watch it at home anytime he wants.” “…The music was great. I could get some feeling from it even though it’s hard for me to understand. My first language is Cambodian, and English is my second language that’s why it makes it more complicated to understand.” “…“Our American Cousin” was the first opera I’ve seen. I better understand the civil war and how the soldiers and the families lived. The music provided the emotional feelings of the people after the civil war. Thank you very much for the ticket. I really enjoyed the opera.”
and students of
students appreciated the opportunity and we spent Monday
morning discussing it.”