Lost in the Stars (1949)

Lost in the Stars
(1949)

Musical tragedy in two acts after Alan Paton's novel Cry, the Beloved Country.
Book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson.

Synopsis
Song List
Performance Information
Principal Productions
Recordings

Design for backdrop

Sketch of backdrop for Broadway production, 1949.

Synopsis

Stephen Kumalo, a black umfundisi (minister), lives in rural South Africa; his children have moved to Johannesburg. His brother sends him a letter which suggests that his son Absalom is in trouble. Kumalo goes to Johannesburg and learns, after some investigating, Absalom is accused of murdering a white man; not just any white man, but one who advocated greater freedom for black South Africans. Absalom confesses and is sentenced to death, leaving his pregnant wife behind. Reverend Kumalo meets with the father of the murder victim and is able to effect a reconciliation at the end of the play.

Song list
   1. The hills of Ixopo
   2. Thousands of miles
   3. Train to Johannesburg
   4. Little tin god
   5. The search
   6. Little gray house
   7. Who'll buy?
   8. Trouble man
   9. Murder in Parkwold
10. Fear
11. Lost in the stars
12. The wild justice
13. O Tixo, Tixo, help me
14. Stay well
15. Cry, the beloved country
16. Big mole
17. A bird of passage
18. Four o'clock

Performance Information

Cast: singing roles -- Leader (tenor or high baritone), Stephen Kumalo (baritone), Linda (singer-dancer), Irina (mezzo-soprano), Alex (boy soprano), white and black choruses.

speaking and other roles -- Grace Kumalo, Absalom Kumalo, John Kumalo, Matthew Kumalo, James Jarvis, Arthur Jarvis, Edward Jones, judge, guard, policeman, townspeople, villagers.
Orchestra: Reed 1 (cl, alto sax, fl), Reed 2 (cl, ten. sax, ob, Eng hn), Reed 3 (cl, bass cl, alto sax); tpt; piano (accordion), harp, timp & perc; 2 viola, 2 cello, bass.
Duration: full evening, 60 minutes music

Principal productions

October 1949, New York, Music Box Theater, Rouben Mamoulian, dir., Maurice Levine, cond.
May 1961, Nürnberg Opernhaus, Karlheinz Strebing, dir., Max Loy cond. (in German)
February 1972, Washington, D.C., Kennedy Center, Gene Frankel, dir., Lehman Engel, cond.
April 1986, New Haven, Long Wharf Theatre, Arvin Brown, dir., Tom Fay cond.
January 1992, Boston Lyric Opera, Bill T. Jones dir., Christopher Larkin cond.

Recordings

LP Decca DL 79120 CD MCA 10302 CD Decca 10402	Original Broadway Cast 1949 Todd Duncan, Herbert Coleman, Sheila Guyse, Inez Matthews, Julian Mayfield, Frank Roane, Guy Spaull Maurice Levine, cond.	Hills of Ixopo Thousands of Miles Train to Johannesburg / Reprise: Thousands of Miles / The Search Little Gray House Who'll Buy / Trouble Man Murder in Parkwold / Fear Lost in the Stars O Tixo, Tixo, Help Me Stay Well Cry, the Beloved Country Big Mole / Chapel Scene Bird of Passage / Reprise: Thousands of Miles
LP Word CS-5117	Mississippi Cast 1968 Eugene Holmes Robert Honeysucker Gladys Scott
MusicMasters Classics CD 01612-67100-2 MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY 513531F NIMBUS NI 2543	Studio Cast 1992 Arthur Woodley, Gregory Hopkins, Cynthia Clarey, Carol Woods, Jamal Howard, Reginald Pindell, Richard Vogt Orchestra of St. Luke's, Concert Chorale of New York, Julius Rudel, cond.
Film

Cry, the Beloved Country

Concert suite from Lost in the Stars arranged by David Drew (1988)
for mezzo-soprano, tenor, white and black choruses, SATB, and instrumental ensemble.

Song list

The Land
The Hills of Ixopo
Train to Johannesburg
The City
Who'll Buy
Murder in Parkwold
Fear
Trouble Man

The Trial
Cry, the Beloved Country

The Mines
Gold
Big Mole
The Judgement
The Wild Justice
Vigil and Hymn -- A Bird of Passage
Four O'Clock
Reprise

Performance Information

Orchestra: Reed 1 (cl, alto sax, fl), Reed 2 (cl, ten. sax, ob, Eng hn,) Reed 3 (cl, bass cl, alto sax); 1 tpt; piano (accordion) harp, timp and perc; 2 viola, 2 cello, 1 bass.
Duration: 35 minutes of music
First performance: October 9, 1988, New York, Carnegie Hall, Milagro Vargas, Damon Evans, vocalists, American Composers' Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies, cond.