Enoch Arden: A Journey in Song and Spoken Word

Richard Strauss's rarely heard melodrama Enoch Arden - a setting of Alfred Lord Tennyson's epic poem of the same name for piano and narrator - tells the tragic story of Enoch Arden, a headstrong and stubborn sailor, who leaves his coastal village in Cornwall in search of riches to support his loving wife Annie and their young family.  This story has been told and retold in many versions, ranging from Homer's 'Odyssey' to the film 'Castaway'. During his voyage, Enoch's ship is wrecked on a reef near a remote island, and he is stranded there for many years.  During his long absence, Annie turns to her life-long friend Philip for support and strength, eventually accepting her belief that Enoch has perished at sea.  But what happens when one thought long-dead returns? In this performance, Meghan Lindsay, Eleanor Crowder, and Carson Becke will weave music by other composers into Strauss's score and Tennyson's poetry, using these pieces to expand on the ideas and emotions expressed in the story.  

Program:

Richard Strauss: Enoch Arden                              

interspersed with music by Gustav Mahler, Cecilia Livingston, Rebecca Clarke, Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten, and Richard Wagner

Meghan Lindsay, soprano

Eleanor Crowder, narrator

Carson Becke, piano