An Open Workshop of Marymere, A Chamber Opera by Matthew Schickele

Sunday, April 25, 2010, 2:00 PM
FREE

A Chamber Opera by Matt Schickele, FCCA Composer in Residence.

In 1888 an odd, quiet man named John Sargent moved from Maine to Wyoming with his business partner and his family. Within a few years he was penniless and alone: he was suspected of murdering both wife and partner, and his children had been removed from his care. He left.

Later John Sargent returned to Jacksons Hole with a new bride. Edith enjoyed sunbathing nude, sitting in trees, and playing violin. Often all at once.

This strange couples brief, troubled time in the shadow of the Teton mountains is the subject of the new chamber opera Marymere. The story centers on Edith Sargent and her struggle to live in an unfamiliar place with a sad, possibly dangerous man.

A composer and the guitarist of an old-time string band, Matt Schickele uses the talents of both folk and classical musicians to tell the story of
an unusual pair, out of place in Americas last frontier.


Concert supported by the ConEdison Musician Residency Composition Program, a program of NYC Performing Arts Spaces. Made possible by support from ConEdison. Additional support has been provided by Amphion Foundation, and the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation.