A Marvelous Order is an opera by Judd Greenstein to a libretto by Tracy K. Smith about New York urban activist Jane Jacobs and urban planner Robert Moses. The work was conceived by three artists—Greenstein, Smith and director Joshua Frankel,[1] who also created animation that is projected throughout the opera.
| A Marvelous Order | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Judd Greenstein | |
| Librettist | Tracy K. Smith |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| External media | |
|---|---|
| Audio | |
 Discussed on WNYC's On The Media | |
| Discussed on KCRW's Design & Architecture | |
| Video | |
 Footage from a workshop presentation, 2016 |
A Marvelous Order was given a work-in-progress "pre-premiere" in March 2016 at the '62 Center for Theater and Dance at Williams College.[2][3][4] An excerpt was presented in June 2017 at the Fulton Center in New York City by the River to River Festival.[5][6] In 2021, excerpts of A Marvelous Order were presented by Brooklyn Public Library in the plaza in front of the Central Library, outdoors, in concert, with animation projected onto the building’s Art Deco facade.[7]
The completed opera had its world premiere on October 20, 2022 at the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, in the culmination of a multi-year partnership which included three creative development residencies.[8][9]
The premiere of A Marvelous Order received a rave[10] review from the Wall Street Journal.[11]
History edit
From the opera's earliest stages, the mixture of libretto, music, and visuals defined the project. All three of the opera's creators worked in tandem.[12]
Plot edit
The opera is set in the 1950s and 1960s and centers around the feud between two historical figures: Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs, and their conflicts over Washington Square Park and the neighborhoods around Moses' proposed Lower Manhattan Expressway.[13] Moses' plans include the demolition of Jacobs' home and the surrounding West Village neighborhood to make way for housing towers. In response, Jacobs leads an activist movement, culminating in a riot—exemplifying the conflicts and heightened human emotions that surround decisions about what to build, what to preserve and what to destroy, which impact towns and cities everywhere. The narrative foregrounds questions about urban development and protest, and the influence these forces have on the lives of people, rendered through music, poetry and animation. [12]
Cast edit
| Character | Singer |
|---|---|
| Jane Jacobs | Megan Schubert |
| Robert Moses | Rinde Eckert |
| Melisa Bonetti | |
| Kelvin Chan | |
| Tomás Cruz | |
| Blythe Gaissert | |
| Christopher Herbert | |
| Tesia Kwarteng | |
| Kamala Sankaram | |
| [Guest appearances] | Dashon Burton, Eric Dudley, Jeffrey Gavet, Avery Griffin, Jonathan Woody |
References edit
- ^ "F*&% Robert Moses. Let's Start Over". WNYC. May 17, 2021.
- ^ Lange, Alexandra (May 4, 2016). "Imagining Jane Jacobs". Curbed. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ McArdle, Molly (May 25, 2016). "A Marvelous Order: A Gentrification Opera for Our Times". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Marcisz, Christopher (March 11, 2016). "Urban myth and reality ignite new opera". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Zax, Tayla (June 21, 2017). "New Opera Tells Story Of Robert Moses And Jane Jacobs — In The City Where They Battled". The Forward.
- ^ Barone, Joshua (April 12, 2017). "An Opera About Robert Moses Is Among the River to River Festival Highlights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Jacobs, Karrie (April 21, 2022). "Why Libraries May Never Stop Being People Places". The New York Times.
- ^ Waleson, Heidi. "'A Marvelous Order' Review: Battling the Power Broker". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ Weiner, Natalie. "A 'Marvelous' Endeavor". PennStater Magazine. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ van Straaten, Laura. "'A Kinetic Cloud of Humanity for Moynihan Train Hall". New York Times.
- ^ Waleson, Heidi. "'A Marvelous Order' Review: Battling the Power Broker". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ a b Frankel, Joshua. "A Marvelous Order". www.amarvelousorder.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ "This Urban Planning Battle in NYC Was So Epic, It's Being Made into an Opera". Architectural Digest. February 12, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
Further reading edit
- Ferro, Shaunacy (April 21, 2014). "Robert Moses Vs. Jane Jacobs, The Central Drama Of Urban Planning, Will Be An Opera". Fast Company. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- Ferro, Shaunacy (October 19, 2015). "Preview an Opera About New York City's Dramatic Urban Planning History". Mental Floss. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- Goodyear, Sarah (October 19, 2015). "Urbanists Rejoice: The Robert Moses Vs. Jane Jacobs Opera Is Almost Here". CityLab. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- Peregoy, Beau (February 12, 2016). "Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs Battle in a New Opera". Architectural Digest. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- Taylor, Kate (May 4, 2014). "Jane Jacobs inspires opera". The Globe and Mail.
- Wiedeman, Reeves (February 15, 2016). "Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, In Song". The New Yorker.
