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THE HOURS on LESTER THE NIGHTFLY RADIO
THE HOURS (S4 | E183)
Philip Glass composed the original score for the 2002 film “The Hours”, starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore. His minimalist and repetitive style was notable in that it complemented the interwoven storylines of the three protagonists across different time periods.
The opera “The Hours” by Kevin Puts intertwines the lives of three women across different time periods who are connected through Virginia Woolf’s novel “Mrs. Dalloway”.
In 1923, Virginia Woolf struggles with mental illness while writing her novel in the suburbs of London. In post-World War II Los Angeles, Laura Brown grapples with being a housewife and mother.
In late 20th century New York, Clarissa Vaughan plans a party for her friend Richard, who is dying of AIDS, while her partner Sally desires a child.
The opera frequently, dynamically, effortlessly transitions between these three storylines, exploring themes of mortality, sexuality, and the complexities of human relationships through the lens of Woolf’s groundbreaking stream-of-consciousness writing style.
Puts’ richly textured score (called painfully beautiful in a NY Times review) and the powerful performances by the lead sopranos bring depth and emotional resonance to this adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
Kevin Puts
Kevin Matthew Puts (born January 3, 1972) is an American composer, best known for his opera The Hours and for winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his first opera Silent Night and a Grammy Award in 2023 for his concerto Contact.
Puts was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Alma, Michigan. He studied composition and piano at the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, earning the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Eastman School of Music. Among his teachers were Samuel Adler, Jacob Druckman, David Lang, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, Martin Bresnick, and, in piano, Nelita True. He also studied at the Tanglewood Music Festival with William Bolcom and Bernard Rands.
Sylvia D’Eramo
A special shout out to Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition Finalist Sylvia D’Eramo who shines in the new recording of this opera, published this year, in 2024. On the stage and in this recording Sylvia plays Kitty/Vanessa in The Hours.
The Hours (novel)
The Hours, a 1998 novel by Michael Cunningham, is a tribute to Virginia Woolf’s 1923 work Mrs. Dalloway; Cunningham emulates elements of Woolf’s writing style while revisiting some of her themes within different settings. The novel won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 1999 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and was later made into an Oscar-winning 2002 film of the same name.
THE HOURS (S4 | E183)
| Song | Artist | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Poet Acts | Philip Glass | The Hours (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) | 2002 |
| Morning Passages | Philip Glass | The Hours (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) | 2002 |
| Something She Has to Do | Philip Glass | The Hours (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) | 2002 |
| Act 1: Prologue. “Flowers… Flowers” Chorus | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
| Act 1: “Missus Dalloway Said She Would Buy the Flowers Herself” | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
| Act 1: “We Need Four Cups” | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
| Act 1: “Oh! A Reminder, Ma’am, Your Sister’s Coming at Two” | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
| Act 2: “Did It Matter Then, She Asked Herself” | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
| Act 2: “Richard! Get Down from There” | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
| Act 2: Conclusion “All Along?” | Puts: The Hours (Live) | Puts: The Hours (Live) | 2024 |
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THE HOURS (S4 | E183)
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