Rumpelstiltskin, the second of Baber's collaborations with novelist and medievalist John Gardner, is a comic opera in two acts, each lasting about one hour. It was premiered in January of 1977, as part of the opening of the newly-restored Opera House in Lexington, Kentucky. The importance of the chorus in this work makes it ideal for college opera workshops. Although the principal roles require professional-level singing, many of the other parts, including that of Rumpelstiltskin, can be taken by student performers. In fact, the role of Rumpelstiltskin can be performed by a talented singing actor. Typical of John Gardner's style, the libretto veers from low comedy to serious drama, in a context of Medieval pageantry.
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Request rental materials here.
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This last collaboration between Baber and novelist/ medievalist John Gardner was completed thirteen years after the writer’s death in 1982. In one act, and roughly an hour in length, it provides a showcase for soprano and baritone, wherein the singer/actors play 3 different versions of their characters. The opera, in the Gardner manner, develops in tone from burlesque at the beginning to chillingly tragic by the end. A series of comic numbers climaxes in “There was a ship...” one of Baber’s finest arias. It was performed in Lexington by the Opera Company of Central Kentucky on May 5 & 6, 1995, with Melissa Baber and Stephen King in the title roles.
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Melissa Baber and Stephen King
in a publicity photo for the premiere (Photo: Lexington Herald-Leader)
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