UCO Opera presents The Wonder Book at the UCO Jazz Lab, November 9th 2024. The Wonder Book is a new compilation of the operas of Samuel Magrill, D.M.A., based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book of Greek mythology for children.
CAST
Eustace Bright, a college student Luis Vasquez
THE CHILDREN
Primrose/Ulysses Jarrett Cox
Buttercup/Perseus Kiana Love
Periwinkle/Epimetheus Ayden Hartel
Clover/Circe/Pandora Tae Bradshaw
Cowslip/The Voice in the Box Teng Liu
Sweet Fern/Quicksilver/Hope Cheyenne Holland
Dandelion/Eurylochus Patrick Qing Yang
Milkweed/The Purple Bird Danni Zheng
Huckleberry/King Polydectus Sebastiao Ribeiro
Plantain/Quicksilver Jiayin Lu
Squash Blossom/The Voice Erinn Giraudo
PRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Directors Rob Glaubitz, Molly Johnson
Music Director Samuel Magrill
Assistant Music Director Yukino Miyake
Flute Tae Bradshaw
The Wonder Book began as three separate operas written between 1997 and 2000 and premiered at University of Central Oklahoma. The operas were based on the Greek mythological stories from two books by Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls and Tanglewood Tales. The two books take place in Tanglewood, which is an area in Lenox, Massachusetts, where Nathaniel Hawthorne lived for several years. In the books, Williams College student Eustace Bright tells Greek myths to a group of local children.
As a part of the 2024-25 Magrill Festival, we have shortened and adapted these three works into one three-part opera which we have entitled The Wonder Book. We are lucky to be able to feature the composer on piano in our wondrous journey into Sam Magrill’s musical landscape.
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