Music by Lukas Foss Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti
About Introductions and Good-Byes
Composed for Gian Carlo Menotti's Festival of Two Worlds, Introductions and Good-Byes is a short monodrama for baritone. It can be performed fully staged, with pit chorus, or as a concert aria with piano. When fully staged, the guests at the party are played by actors or dancers; their parts are sung by the pit chorus.
Cast of Characters
Mr. McC,the host,bar
A male servant,mute
Nine guests,actors, dancers, or marionettes
Chorus or solo quartet of mixed voices seated in the orchestral pit
Synopsis
The libretto of Introductions and Good-Byes consists exclusively of polite greetings and farewells between a host and the guests at his cocktail party. As the opera opens, the servant sets up for the party and the host mixes himself a martini. As the first guests arrive, he introduces them to each other; as the last guests arrive, the first begin to leave, and the host says his goodbyes. At last, all the guests are gone, and as the servant begins to clean up, the host is left alone with his martini.
Performance History
World premiere New York Philharmonic, New York, New York May 5, 1960 Mr. McC: John Reardon Leonard Bernstein, conductor
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