Hopper's Wife

Opera in Five Scenes

''Brave, bold and important.'' - Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times

Libretto by Michael Korie
World premiere Long Beach Opera June 1997
Directed by Christopher Alden
Conducted by Michael Barrett
Characters Hopper, Mrs. Hopper, Ava
Commissioned by Long Beach Opera and the

92nd Street Y

Selections performed in concert at the Walker Art Center and the New York Festival of Song May 1991

3 singers, 10 musicians
90 minutes

Hopper's Wife imagines a marriage between American scene painter Edward Hopper and Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.

Mrs. Hopper is a composite of Hedda and Josephine Hopper. Ava, modeled on the young Ava Gardner, is the initial conduit for Mrs. Hopper's gossip and the only character in the work who maintains her humanity. And Hopper is the depraved, difficult man that lurks beneath the pristine, tightly controlled surface of his paintings.

Samples as Audio and Video Files

(What you need to play Real files!)

Video-Sample 1 (Video, 1:01)

Video-Sample 2 (Video, 2:29)

Scene One excerpt (Audio, 1:36)

Lazy Summer Days (Audio, 4:02)