THE GENESIS OF AN OPERA. Where do operas come from? Here's a short version--a very short version....

In 1978 my sister went to college at SUNY Binghamton. At some point she brought home a short story anthology called Affinities, which I promptly (and permanently) borrowed. One story that cast a spell on me was "The Sailor-Boy’s Tale" by Isak Dinesen. (Dinesen is a pseudonym of Danish author Karen Blixen, who is now best known as the author of "Babette’s Feast" and Out of Africa.)

In 1979 I joined the Long Island Youth Orchestra, where, as a member of the Lower Brass Union (LBU), I made the acquaintance of a talented tuba player named Paul Siskind. As is often the case among members of the LBU, we spent much rehearsal time simply waiting to play. I often passed that time immersed in reading. (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was one book I devoured with strings played in the background.) Paul, on the other hand, paid more attention to the music and thoughtfully nudged me when it was my turn to make an entrance. So perhaps it is not surprising that Paul became a musician and I became a writer.

Paul and I remained friends as we followed our different paths, usually (but not always) in different cities. At some point--during the Eighties, I think--I was struck by the idea that "The Sailor-Boy’s Tale" would make a good operetta or opera. It’s a very short, sketchy story that resembles a folk tale. Without giving away details, I’ll note that the story includes many elements that seem to lend themselves to a good piece of musical theater--romance, action, the occult, changing moods, some surprises, and a variety of settings and situations running from solitary shipboard brooding to a bustling marketplace.

Every now and then I’d mention the story and its operatic potential to Paul--and after many years he also saw the light and got the "okay" to adapt the story as an opera for a premiere staging at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he is known to many as Dr. Siskind (left). Another SUNY Potsdam professor, Alan Steinberg--who teaches Dinesen’s story himself--became the librettist.

After many intense months of composition and the shedding of copious quantities of blood, sweat, and tears, The Sailor-Boy and the Falcon finally premiered last month. A friend and I traveled upstate for two of the performances and really enjoyed seeing the story staged after all these years. It was also fascinating to see the impact of this operatic production on the school and town. A production of this kind gives many people a chance to shine, involving vocal and instrumental music, acting, dancing, set design, lighting, stage management, rehearsal pianists, etc. The participation of Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano and Crane graduate Stephanie Blythe, who performed as Sunniva and graciously interacted with the student performers, further enriched the experience. And the four sold-out performances and related events engaged many others, including Crane students, school children and townspeople, music business professionals, and so forth.

When Dinesen’s little story was published in her collection Winter’s Tales in 1942, no one could have imagined what a life it would go on to have. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark apparently adapted it for marionette theater in 2004. And it somehow came to be adopted within the SUNY system, where it blossomed into The Sailor-Boy and The Falcon in 2006. I hope that the opera will thrive, giving many others the opportunity to experience its magic.

A live recording of The Sailor-Boy and the Falcon will be broadcast on North Country Public Radio today from 1 – 3 pm EST.

Stephanie Blythe performs a recital this Thursday evening at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.