A Bayou Legend

A Bayou Legend
Opera by William Grant Still
The composer in 1949, photographed by Carl Van Vechten
Librettist	Verna Arvey
Language	English
Premiere	March 31, 1974 (1974-03-31) Opera/South in Jackson, Mississippi

A Bayou Legend is an American opera composed by William Grant Still, with a libretto by his wife and frequent collaborator, Verna Arvey.

Plot[]

Set in a 20th-century Creole village in the Mississippi Delta, the opera focuses on the deadly revenge that the beautiful Clothilde enacts on Bazile, a handsome young man who does not return her expressions of love. When Clothilde discovers that Bazile has been in communication with Aurore, a spirit who identifies herself as Bazile's lover from a distant era, Clothilde threatens to have Bazile arrested for violating local religious customs. When Bazile continues to refuse to wed Clothilde, she arranges for a mob to have him lynched. In his death throes, however, Bazile's soul is united with Aurore; Clothilde lives out the remainder of her years as a bitter recluse.

Productions[]

Still composed A Bayou Legend in 1941, but it was not professionally staged until 1974, when Opera/South in Jackson, Mississippi presented its world premiere, 33 years later. The company revived the opera in 1976, and in 1979 collaborated with the Mississippi Educational Television Authority to create a made-for-television film version. However, post-production problems delayed its broadcast until June 15, 1981.^[1] This marked the first time that an opera composed by an African American was broadcast on television.^[2]

The opera was performed in 1976 in its West Coast Premier at East Los Angeles City College, featuring a mostly African-American professional cast, including , conducted by the late Calvin Simmons, directed by Gary Fisher, and designed by . This production shifted the time of the setting to the 1920s.

Daniel Carriaga's review of the opera for the Los Angeles Times and described it as a "lyrical and theatrical masterpiece".^{[citation needed]}

Still's widow and author of the libretto, Verna Arvey, attended the Los Angeles production. She was given a plaque honoring William Grant Still and said that the production had fully embodied the spirit of her husband's work.^{[citation needed]}

The New York Times review of the television production praised the opera as "simple but effective," and described the cast as "exceptionally handsome and talented."^[3] The production received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction. To date, the televised production has not been commercially released on DVD.

References[]

External links[]

• A Bayou Legend at IMDb
• New York Times coverage of the television film version of the opera
• William Grant Still Music, site with comprehensive information about him and his music
• Interview, Transcript, African American Music Collection, University of Michigan
• William Grant Still; Composer, Arranger, Conductor & Oboist, AfriClassical.com
• A Bayou Legend (complete; 69:04) on YouTube (1941)