The Great Gatsby is a 1999 opera in two acts written by American composer John Harbison. The libretto, also by Harbison, was adapted from the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Additional popular song lyrics were by Murray Horwitz. The opera was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera in honor of music director James Levine's 25th anniversary with the company.
The Great Gatsby had its premiere performance on December 20, 1999. Conducted by Levine, the cast included Jerry Hadley, Dawn Upshaw and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. The stage production was by Mark Lamos. The opera has been performed at the Met twelve times in two seasons. In 2000 it was produced at Lyric Opera of Chicago. The opera has received mixed reviews, some describing it as "undramatic and dull."[1] It was also performed in the summer of 2012 at the Aspen Music Festival and School. It was performed at Seagle Festival in Schroon Lake, NY in the summer of 2018.
The first European performance was on 6 December 2015 at the Semperoper in Dresden conducted by Wayne Marshall.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, December 20, 1999 (Conductor: James Levine) | European Premiere, December 6, 2015 (Conductor: Wayne Marshall) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Gatsby, a wealthy but mysterious young man | Jerry Hadley | Peter Lodahl | |
| Daisy Buchanan, a young socialite | Dawn Upshaw | Maria Bengtsson | |
| Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband, formerly an athlete | tenor | Mark W. Baker | Raymond Very |
| Nick Carraway, Daisy's cousin, a stockbroker | Dwayne Croft | John Chest | |
| Jordan Baker, Daisy's friend, a golfer | Susan Graham | Christina Bock | |
| George Wilson, garage mechanic | bass | Richard Paul Fink | Lester Lynch |
| Myrtle Wilson, George's wife | mezzo-soprano | Lorraine Hunt Lieberson | Angel Blue |
| Radio/Band Singer | tenor | Matthew Polenzani | Aaron Pegram |
| Tango Singer | mezzo-soprano | Jennifer Dudley | Jelena Kordić |
| Meyer Wolfshiem, a businessman | William Powers | Matthias Henneberg | |
| Henry Gatz, Jay's father | baritone | Frederick Burchinal | Tilmann Rönnebeck |
| Minister | bass | LeRoy Lehr | |