1. 12 january | February 2015
y day, Georgia Bottoms is the perfect Southern
belle in Six Points,Alabama. She dutifully attends
church, cares for her mama, and quilts. Once night
settles around the front porch, the sweet lady known for
her cooking and quilting turns into a sly businesswoman
who entertains a different man every night and somehow
manages to keep each one in the dark. She masterfully
juggles both roles until Preacher Eugene Hendrix decides
to confess their affair in front of the entire congregation.
What’s a lady to do?
With wit, wisdom, and a healthy dose of wry humor,
Mark Childress writes about Georgia’s quest to save
her reputation before her mama finds out.Thanks to a
collaboration with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, the
novel takes the stage this February in the form of a comic
opera.The typically sad opera stage transforms with this
clever production sure to tickle your funny bone.
“The topic is funny; it has situational comedy
moments,” says conductor GregoryVajda of comic opera.
“What makes it an opera are references to the music;
certain sounds are used as a reference. Comedy comes
from timing, and in music it’s the same as standup
comedy—timing and pace is everything.”
Vajda composed the score and collaborated with
Childress to write the libretto.
“I first got the idea for this book when I heard an
interview on NPR with the author, Mark Childress,”
he says.“It has a strong female character and interesting
supporting characters that can be put into music but not
too many that would cause the audience confusion.”
Crafting an opera out of prose is no small undertaking.
All the action takes place in a single space instead of
sprinkled around Six Points.Vajda and company opted for
minimal staging to let the music and characters shine.
“I was looking for a Southern topic,”Vajda says of what
initially drew him to Georgia herself.“American opera
composer Carlisle Floyd often wrote about the South.
Stories about the South come up often in American operas
because drama is happening here—extreme historical
circumstances are taking place. From an opera point of view,
the South is the most interesting.”
For more information and showtimes, visit hso.org.
Text by Lauren Moriarty
Georgia BottomsLiterature’s latest leading lady takes the stage in Huntsville.
alabama insider
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