J. Smith-Cameron & Joe Morton to Narrate MasterVoices' THE GRAPES OF WRATH

Emmy-nominee (Succession) J. Smith-Cameron and Emmy Award-winner (Scandal) Joe Morton will co-narrateMasterVoices’ revised concert version of The Grapes of Wrath, the 2007 “great American opera” (Musical America) by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Michael Korie based on John Steinbeck’s landmark novel, on April 17 at Carnegie Hall. 

Set in the Great Depression of the 1930s, it tells the story of the Joad family, Oklahoma sharecroppers who, along with thousands of others, become refugees in their own country. As they migrate to find work in the would-be Promised Land of California, they face hardship, resentment, and violence. 

In addition to revisions in the orchestration, Gordon and Korie have added a new scene. Says MasterVoices Artistic Director Ted Sperling, “People Again shows the Joad family settling into a government camp where they can actually sleep in a bed, take a shower, use a toilet for the first time in their lives, and start feeling like people again. It’s quite a powerful scene. Additionally, I’ll Be There has been revised as a duet for Tom and Ma.”

The Grapes of Wrath was given its New York City premiere by MasterVoices in 2010 and was the first work Ted Sperling brought to the group. This revival, presented as part of Mr. Sperling’s tenth season anniversary as Artistic Director with MasterVoices, features new revisions and music exclusive to this performance, with a keen focus on choral elements.

Ted Sperling conducts the 120–member MasterVoices chorus, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and an all-star cast including soprano Mikaela Bennett, last seen as Micaëla in MasterVoices’ 2022 staging of Carmen; baritone John Brancy, praised in the New York Times for “his vibrant, resonant presence” as Escamillo in the same production; “one of America’s great modern-day baritones” (OperaWire), Nathan Gunn, who sang the role of Tom Joad in the 2010 MasterVoices Carnegie Hall concert version premiere and who returns as Pa Joad; Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore; baritone Malcolm MacKenzie, praised for his “rich, warm and dark tone” (Opera News); Broadway’s Bryonha Marie (“her silvery soprano was utterly spellbinding,” The Boston Globe); the “velvet-sounding” (Woman Around Town) baritone Kyle Oliver; bass-baritone Christian Pursell in his Carnegie Hall debut; tenor Victor Starsky, who sang Roméo in New York City Opera’s recent Roméo et Juliette; and “powerful baritone” (Washington Post) Schyler Vargas, who sang the role of Strephon in MasterVoices’ 2023 production of Iolanthe.

The sound design is by Scott Lehrer. Tracy Christensen is the costume designer, and the lighting design is by Brian Tovar. The performance features projections by Wendall K.Harrington, who created the projections for the Minnesota Opera premiere as well as the MasterVoices 2010 concert, and stage management by Ira Mont.

Aside from its standalone significance, MasterVoices’ The Grapes of Wrath production will also mark the inauguration of the company’s Three in Six program, an ambitious new series committed to producing three contemporary American operas over the next six years. Three in Six builds on the group’s signature style, recently characterized by The New York Times as “smart modest stagings with strong musical values,” and is driven by the desire to give New York audiences more opportunities to hear outstanding 20th and 21st-century operas in lush musical environments. “The major opera companies have so few slots available,” says Ted Sperling, “and while there are innovative groups doing wonderful chamber stagings, there is little in between. So many worthy works – by some of our country’s greatest contemporary composers – have yet to be produced in New York for precisely this reason, and we look forward to opening up those vistas.”

Performance Details: 

The Grapes of Wrath

Wednesday, April 17, 2024, 7:30 pm

Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

Concert Opera Version in Two Acts

Music by Ricky Ian Gordon

Libretto by Michael Korie

Concert Narration by Kevin Doyle

Orchestrations by Ricky Ian Gordon and Bruce Coughlin

Based on the novel by John Steinbeck

Ted Sperling, Conductor and Director

MasterVoices Chorus

Orchestra of St. Luke’s

Narrated by J. Smith-Cameron and Joe Morton

Sound design by Scott Lehrer

Costume design by Tracy Christensen

Lighting design by Brian Tovar

Projections by Wendall K. Harrington

Stage Management by Ira Mont

CAST

TOM JOAD, a released prisoner, Kyle Oliver

MA JOAD, Tom’s mother, Margaret Lattimore

MAE, a waitress, Bryonha Marie

ROSE OF SHARON, Tom’s pregnant sister, Mikaela Bennett 

JIM CASY, a lapsed preacher, Victor Starsky

PA JOAD, a tenant farmer, Nathan Gunn

UNCLE JOHN, Pa’s brother, Malcolm MacKenzie

CONNIE RIVERS, Rose of Sharon’s husband / RAGGED MAN / TRUCK DRIVER, Schyler Vargas

NOAH, Tom’s slow-witted brother, Christian Pursell

AL, his younger brother, John Brancy

GRANMA, Pa and John’s mother, Jan Constantine

GRAMPA, her husband, David Fleiss

RUTHIE, Tom’s youngest sister, Ruby Waxman

Tickets priced from $30-$155, may be purchased online at carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800 or in person at Carnegie Hall’s box office at 57th and Seventh Avenue.

Details of MasterVoices’ 2023-24 season can be found at mastervoices.org.  

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