OPERA SEARCH
My Heart's in the Highlands
(1969)Libretto by the composer after the play by William Saroyan (E)
girlS,A,boyS,boyA,dramT,T,2Bar,BBar,B,3speakers; chorus
2(I=picc,II=picc/Gfl).1(=corA).1(=bcl/tsax).1-2.crt.0.0-
timp.perc(1):susp.cym/glsp/xyl/tam-t/bells/SD/BD/bongos(or tpl.bl)/
tgl-pft(=harm,cel,accordion)-strings(3.0.2.2.1)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
New York, New York
Kirk Browning, director
Conductor: Peter Herman
Company: NET Opera Theater
| HENRY, the morning paper route carrier | Whistler and Boy Alto |
| BEN ALEXANDER, poet, and Johnny's father | Dramatic Tenor |
| JASPER MACGREGOR, the man with his heart in the Highlands | Bass Baritone |
| JOHNNY | Boy Soprano |
| MR. KOSAK | Deep Bass |
| Johnny's Grandmother (who sings only in Armenian) | Contralto |
| RUFE APLEY, the carpenter* | Baritone |
| SAME WALLACE, the lineman* | Baritone |
| ESTHER, Mr. Kosak's beautiful daughter | Girl Soprano |
| Philip Carmichael, the young man from the Old People's Home | Baritone |
| Mr. Cunningham, the real estate agent | spoken role |
| The Young Husband | spoken role |
| The Young Wife (and their baby) | spoken role |
| A Dog | barker |
| A Chorus of good friends and neighbours (* denotes member of the Chorus) |
August and November, 1914; A house on San Benito Ave., Fresno, California. Mr. Kosak's grocery store
In their modest California home, Johnny, his father Ben Alexander, an unsuccessful poet, and his grandmother, who speaks and sings only Armenian, live precariously, getting food on credit from the grocer, Kosak. They are visited by an old actor, Jasper MacGregor, who has escaped from the old people’s home. His strong character, virtuosity on the cornet, and insistence that his heart is in the highlands, wins over the family and neighbors, who bring gifts of food. After a few weeks, Philip Carmichael comes to take MacGregor back. Ben’s poems are rejected by the Atlantic Monthly. His despair is deepened when Mr. Cunningham, a real estate man, brings a young couple to view the house, on which three months’ rent is due. Ben gives his poems to Kosak in lieu of money. The family joyfully opens the door as MacGregor reappears. His cornet draws neighbors, who again bring offerings of food. MacGregor obliges the neighbors with a grand reading from Shakespeare, then collapses as attendants come for him. The young couple reappear to claim the house, and Johnny, along with his father and grandmother, pack up their possessions and take to the road.
Dramatic, Tragic