The Secret Garden (opera)

The Secret Garden is an opera by Nolan Gasser with a libretto (based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett) written by Carey Harrison. Commissioned by the San Francisco Opera and presented in partnership with Cal Performances, it premiered on March 1, 2013, at Zellerbach Hall at the University of California, Berkeley.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 1 March 2013 Conductor: Sara Jobin
Mary Lennox	soprano	Sarah Shafer
Colin Craven	a boy tenor	Michael Kepler Meo
Archibald Craven	baritone	Phillipe Sly
Dickon Sowerby	tenor	Scott Joiner
Martha Sowerby	mezzo-soprano	Laura Krumm
Mrs. Medlock	soprano	Erin Johnson
Ben Weatherstaff	baritone	Ao Li
Susan Sowerby	soprano	Marina Harris
Orchestra		San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Direction		Jose Maria Condemi
Visual design		Naomie Kremer
Costume design		Kristi Johnson
Lighting design		Christopher Maravich
Musical preparation		Robert Mollicone, Sun Ha Yoon, John Churchwell, Sara Jobin

Critical reaction

The opera received positive reviews from Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle, Janos Gereben in The San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Classical Voice, Stacy Trevenon at StageandCinema.com and others, with mixed reviews from the San Jose Mercury News and elsewhere.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

References

1. Kosman, Joshua (3 March 2013) "Secret Garden' review: Child's delight" The San Francisco Chronicle
2. Gereben, Janos (5 March 2013) "Secret Garden a hit with opera's young target audience" The San Francisco Examiner
3. Crawford, Caroline (7 March 2013) "Review: 'The Secret Garden' at Zellerbach Wins Thumbs Up" The Berkeley Patch
4. Scheinin, Richard (3 March 2013) "Review: San Francisco Opera's Secret Garden is a misfire" The San Jose Mercury News
5. Trevenon, Stacy (7 March 2013) "Bay Area Opera Review: The Secret Garden" Stage and Cinema