Remembering Ned Rorem by Tappan Wilder
On Friday, we learned the sad news that Ned Rorem has died.
Nearly two decades ago, in my role as Thornton Wilder’s literary executor, I approached the poet and librettist J.D. (“Sandy”) McClatchy with a request: that he write the libretto for an opera based on Our Town and select the composer for the work. Sandy agreed enthusiastically to my and my family’s invitation. And soon thereafter his inspired choice of Ned Rorem, to compose the score, said yes with no less enthusiasm.
And here we are today. As I write these words the Ned Rorem / J.D. McClatchy haunting and lambent Our Town Opera has been performed more than thirty times since its premiere at Indiana University on February 26, 2006.
Sadly, Sandy has gone before, and now we have lost Ned Rorem. We salute his great achievements as a composer. How lucky we are that his storied legacy includes an opera set in a small town in New Hampshire, “the life of a village against the life of the stars.”
OUR TOWN Opera Production Photos (Indiana University, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and The Juilliard School)
