William Schuman (Opera Highlights: The Mighty Casey)

The Mighty Casey is the first of William Schuman's two operas. The composer, being a great baseball fan, created music to go with writer Jeremy Gury's libretto in the early 1950s. The result is an near 80-minute stage work that expands Ernest Thayer's original poem (Casey at the Bat) into a celebration of American small-town life and, of course, one of its favorite pastimes: baseball! And I imagine that only an American composer such as Schuman would think of this sport (or any for that matter) as an "appropriate" subject for opera. The selections in this video are as follows: Noon of the Big Day Championship of the State The Mighty Casey Autograph Last Half of the Ninth A Prayer Surprise Rhubarb: 'Ya Blind I'm Fed to the Teeth A Strike's a Strike The Rhubarb Dance Oh, Somewhere Twilight of the Big Day Performed by the Juilliard Opera Center and Juillard Orchestra Conducted by Gerard Schwarz The entire opera along with Schuman's one-act opera A Question of Taste is available through the Delos label: https://delosmusic.com/recording/schu... Selected paintings by: Carol Armstrong Louise Bourne Judy McSween (*If you know an artist whose work is included in this video, please let me know the name so I can give credit here.)