It was my great pleasure, while at Lyric Opera Cleveland, to produce and direct the world premiere of MRS DALLOWAY which we commissioned (at the urging of Bonnie Grice, who would write the libretto) from the wonderful Libby Larsen. This scene is the backbone of the main subplot of Woolf's novel, the tragedy of Septimus Warren Smith, which unfolds in tandem with the events that surround Mrs. Dalloway and her party. Septimus, a veteran of World War I, is also its victim after the fact. Unbeknownst to him, he suffers from the cumulative effects of shell shock, which is robbing him in an ever-more alarming way of what has become his tenuous grip on reality. Though he has moments of lucidity, his situation becomes increasingly desperate, not only for him, but also for his young, Italian wife, Rezia, whose status as a foreigner in a strange city (London) and her basic mistrust of Septimus's unsympathetic doctor are increasingly worrisome. Fontaine Follansbee was Rezia, Mickey Houlihan, the doctor, Mary Elizabeth Poore, Clarrisa Dalloway and Quentin Quereau her husband, Richard. Gary Briggle was the heart-wrenching Septimus. Steve Parry designed the set and clothes. Benton Hess conducted.

• published: 02 Oct 2013
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