Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera
| Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 16, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | at Right Track Recording and The Hit Factory, New York City. | |||
| Genre | Opera | |||
| Length | 63:36 | |||
| Label | Angel Records | |||
| Producer | Frank Filipetti and Teese Gohl | |||
| Carly Simon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera is an album written and composed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Angel Records, on November 16, 1993.
The singing on the album is performed by a cast of five.[who?] Simon does appear at the end of the album, performing "Voulez-Vous Danser" as a bonus track.
History
[edit]Simon was jointly commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Association and the Kennedy Center to write a contemporary opera that would appeal to younger people. She came up with Romulus Hunt, named after its 12-year-old protagonist. It is a family opera about divorce. Romulus tries to trick his divorced, ill-matched parents into coming back together. His sidekick is an imaginary Rastafarian named Zoogy who knows enough Jamaican magic to help with the plot. Eddie, Rom's father, is an artsy type who pierces his son's nose, while his prim mother, Joanna, worries more about propriety. A triangle is created by Mica, Eddie's girlfriend, a ditsy performance artist. During the show's final minutes Eddie learns to love Rom by recalling his own father's indifference.[2]
Revival
[edit]In December 2014, the Nashville Opera Association premiered a new performance edition of the opera.[3][4]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Carly Simon.[5]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction (Voulez-Vous Danser)" | 1:04 |
| 2. | "Looser Arms" | 3:54 |
| 3. | "Valentine Aria" | 3:11 |
| 4. | "A Boy Of Twelve" | 5:47 |
| 5. | "Man With Wings" | 3:49 |
| 6. | "My Dance Is A Tango" | 4:38 |
| 7. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" | 1:39 |
| 8. | "Fond of the Blondes" | 2:26 |
| 9. | "It's My Downfall" | 4:35 |
| 10. | "Incantation" | 3:22 |
| 11. | "The Fight" | 5:14 |
| 12. | "The Jig" | 1:25 |
| 13. | "Am I Still Young?" | 3:25 |
| 14. | "It's Such A Glorious Day" | 0:53 |
| 15. | "Seduction Aria" | 2:50 |
| 16. | "Romulus Hunt (The Nightmare)" | 2:30 |
| 17. | "Where Am I?" | 1:29 |
| 18. | "It Almost Happens On Its Own (We'll Never Leave)" | 3:07 |
| 19. | "Eddie's Soliloquy" | 3:43 |
| 20. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" | 1:16 |
| 21. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" (Bonus Track)" | 3:11 |
| Total length: | 63:28 | |
Credits
[edit]- Louis Alfred III – assistant engineer
- Lamar Alsop – viola
- Cyro Baptista – percussion
- Elena Barere – concert master, violin
- John Beal – bass
- Jay Berliner – guitar
- Warren Bernhardt – piano
- Jeff Bova – keyboards
- Jacob Brackman – story
- Jimmy Bralower – drums, producer
- Sergio Brandão – bass
- Michael Brecker – EWI
- Emile Charlap – contractor
- Israel Chorberg – violin
- Timothy Cobb – bass
- Cenobia Cummings – violin
- Leonard Davis – viola
- Jill Dell'Abate – production coordination
- Guillermo Figueroa – violin
- Frank Filipetti – engineer, mixing, producer
- Barry Finclair – violin
- Semyon Fridman – cello
- Gohl – arranger, keyboards, piano, producer
- Bob Gothard – photography
- Gordon Gottlieb – percussion
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Michael Kosarin – piano
- Jesse Levy – cello
- Charles Libove – violin
- Richard Martinez – keyboards
- Bill Mays – piano
- Charles McCracken – cello
- Emil Micha – lettering
- Jim Militsher – assistant engineer
- Emily Mitchell – harp
- Paul Peabody – violin
- Jeff Pevar – guitar
- John Pintavalle – violin
- Joe Pirrera – assistant engineer
- Greg Pliska – arranger
- Matthew Raimondi – violin
- Carly Simon – composer, guitar (acoustic), primary artist, story, vocals
- Richard Sortomme – viola
References
[edit]- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Carly Simon's Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
- ^ "Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Paulson, Dave (October 18, 2014). "Carly Simon teams up with Nashville Opera". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- ^ Stumpfl, Amy (December 4, 2014). "Nashville Opera takes unusual journey in 'Romulus Hunt'". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- ^ Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera (booklet). Carly Simon. Angel. 1993.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
