MONDAY NUN DAY: Richard Rodgers' Research for The Sound of Music

For today's Monday Nun Day posting, we take a look into the creation of the music sung by the nuns in The Sound of Music. Did you know that this liturgical-style music was written specifically for the production? There's also quite a bit more of it in the stage version than what you might remember from the iconic Julie Andrews film...and we're excited to share it with you during the Central City Opera 2014 Festival!

Richard and Dorothy Rodgers at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart at a concert arranged by Mother Morgan for research on The Sound of Music - Photo from New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Richard Rodgers wrote in Musical Stages: An Autobiography:

One musical problem confronting me was the opening piece. Rather than begin with the customary overture, we decided to open immediately on a scene in Nonnberg Abbey, in which the nuns are heard chanting a Catholic prayer, "Dixit Dominus." Since I had been so strongly against a score that combined old music with new, I could hardly fall back on using a traditional melody for the mass. Writing "Western" songs for Oklahoma! or "Oriental" songs for The King and I had never fazed me, but the idea of composing a Catholic prayer made me apprehensive. Given my lack of familiarity with liturgical music, as well as the fact that I was of a different faith, I had to make sure that what I wrote would sound as authentic as possible.

Richard Rodgers at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart - also from NYPL Digital Gallery

So for the first time in my life I did a little research - and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding music lessons I've ever had. Through friends I got in touch with Mother Morgan, the head of the music department at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. She was not only willing to help; she even invited Dorothy and me to a specially arranged concert at which the nuns and seminarians sand and performed many different kinds of religious music, from Gregorian chants to a modern work by Gabriel Fauré. An unexpectedly amusing moment came when Mother Morgan, waving her arms like a cheerleader at a football game, was vigorously conducting a particularly dramatic passage. As the music built to its peak, above the singing could be clearly heard Mother Morgan's booming command: "Pray it!"

Mother Morgan (above) assisted Ricard Rodgers in his research for creating the liturgical music for The Sound of Music.

Catch Richard Rodgers' beautiful music inspired by Mother Morgan and her fellow nuns during The Sound of Music. The production runs exclusively at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, August 2-10, 2014.

Dead Man Walking stars on public radio this past weekend

If you're a fan of Colorado Public Radio, you might have caught two of our Dead Man Walking artists over the airways this weekend. (They both play nuns, by chance, so we'll call this another honorary "Monday Nun Day" post.)  If you missed them, it's no problem – you can listen to them now online!

Saturday evening , Jennifer Rivera (Sister Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking) performed on Public Radio International's A Prairie Home Companion. Last week saw the release of her EP album The Garrison Keillor Songs, five songs written by the author and host. Jennifer was featured in sketches throughout the evening, introduced as coming directly from Central City to be on the show. She was serenaded by Keillor with a new song that included her name in it, and performed Handel's "Ombra mai fù" and Cherubina's aria "Non, so più cosa son" from The Marriage of Figaro. (While Central City Opera performs Figaro this summer, Rivera is not in that particular cast.) In addition to participating in several sketches, Jennifer sang "Unification," a song with lyrics written by Keillor, set to music by Robert Aldridge (from the previously-mentioned album). Listen to the entire June 21 A Prairie Home Companion broadcast online now.

"Non so più" from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro — @jjennymr pic.twitter.com/mbx9gLpgXk
— Prairie Home Comp. (@prairie_home) June 21, 2014

This weekend, another public radio program, This American Life, featured the talents of Jeanine De Bique (Sister Rose, Dead Man Walking) during a special musical radio drama episode. As De Bique described it on her Facebook page, her comedic debut was a "...live broadcast of the true story 'Locked in closet' by my friend Carin Gilfry. I play the Jamaican maid that rescues her! There are elves, german tourists, a bored receptionist and a surprise guest Composer! Watch the trailer!"

THIS AMERICAN LIFE: LIVE AT BAM - Trailer from This American Life on Vimeo.

The New York Times review of the episode included the following description:

Brooklyn Academy of Music’s opera house must have hosted plenty of Valkyries in its time. But Jeanine De Bique is almost certainly the first to stride onstage accessorized with a broom and dishwashing gloves, singing about how much she hates her job. Her angry soprano aria was among the many blissful surprises of “The Radio Drama Episode” — Saturday night’s embraceable live performance for the public-radio show “This American Life” that devoted itself to documentary dramas of true stories.

You can now stream the entire June 20 radio drama episode of This American Life online, with a special video option available as well for a small fee.

Catch both of these talented women in Dead Man Walking at the Central City Opera House July 5 to 25, 2014. Tune in to Colorado Public Radio this coming weekend as well, for the live broadcast of The Marriage of Figaro opening night, Saturday, June 28th.

"Honorary" Monday Nun Day Post: Jennifer Rivera's EP is released tomorrow and performed on radio this weekend

For today's Monday Nun Day posting, we're giving a shoutout to Jennifer Rivera who plays a nun this summer, portraying Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking.

Tomorrow is the release date for Jennifer's EP album The Garrison Keillor Songs, five songs written by the author who hosts A Prairie Home Companion on public radio. The music was composed by Grammy Award Winner Robert Aldridge.

The album will only be released digitally; check out The Garrison Keillor Songs on iTunes.

Tune in this weekend to A Prairie Home Companion, as Rivera will be singing the songs live from Ravinia. The show is broadcast Saturday from 4 to 6 pm (Mountain) in the Denver area on Colorado Public Radio, and again on Sunday from 10 am to Noon.

You can also read Jennifer's blog about performing three times on A Prairie Home Companion, or listen to the archived episodes online from April 16, 2005; December 24, 2005; and December 28, 2008.

Dead Man Walking performs in Central City from July 5 to 25. The opera is based on Sister Helen Prejean's autobiography of the same name.

MONDAY NUN DAY: How Sister Helen Prejean Unwinds

It's time for another "Monday Nun Day" posting, and we just had to share this fun video posted recently on Sister Helen Prejean's Twitter feed.

When asked what she liked to do just for herself....would you believe the answer involved ZOMBIES???



Sister Helen Prejean's autobiography Dead Man Walking was the inspiration for the opera of the same name, written by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally. See Central City Opera's production of Dead Man Walking July 5 to 25, 2014. 

Monday Nun Day: Happy Birthday, Mother Teresa!

Looking ahead to next year’s productions of Dead Man Walking and The Sound of Music, we are launching an occasional “Monday Nun Day” series. Today’s date just happens to coincide with the birthday of one of the world’s most famous nuns, Mother Teresa, born August 26, 1910. In 1999, a poll of Americans ranked her first in Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.