page_title: The Triumph of St. Joan
section_title: 1959 opera
hierarchical_section_title: The Triumph of St. Joan / 1959 opera
context_page_description: The Triumph of St. Joan was originally an opera in three acts by Norman Dello Joio to an English language libretto on the subject of the martyrdom of Joan of Arc by Dello Joio and Joseph Machlis. It was premiered at Sarah Lawrence College on May 9, 1950. Although the opera was received positively, the composer was unhappy with the work and declined to have it performed again. However, he did adapt part of the opera into a symphony of the same title in 1951. The symphony was later renamed Seraphic Ode.
  Dello Joio returned to the subject of Joan of Arc in 1955 when he was commissioned by the NBC Television Opera Theatre to produce an original 75-minute opera for television. The resulting work in two acts was retitled The Trial at Rouen, and, in using new music and a new libretto by Dello Joio, was in effect a completely different musical drama from its predecessor. It premiered on April 8, 1956 on NBC. Dello Joio adapted the work a third time, extending the music at the beginning and end of the 1956 version to create a one-act opera for the stage. This third version, once again called The Triumph of St. Joan, was premiered by the New York City Opera on April 16, 1959.
context_section_description: After the somewhat mixed success of The Trial at Rouen, Dello Joio felt that he could still improve upon his opera further. He continued to work on the opera adding additional music to the beginning and end. He took some music from the original 1950 opera, a short aria for an English sentry (a character in the original opera but not the television version), and tagged it onto the beginning of the first act. He also added an impassioned extended farewell aria for Joan at the end of the opera. Although the work was now longer than the 1956 version, it was structured into one act instead of two.
  In 1958 Julius Rudel offered to include Dello Joio's revised one-act opera, now retitled The Triumph of St. Joan, in the 1958–1959 New York City Opera (NYCO) season. He readily accepted and the work was premiered by the NYCO on April 16, 1959, in a double bill with Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium. The cast included Lee Venora in the title role, Mack Harrell as Cauchon, Chester Watson as Father Julien, Chester Ludgin as the Jailer, and tenor Frank Porretta as the Sentry. Herbert Grossman conducted the opera which was staged by José Quintero and included sets by David Hays and costumes by Ruth Morely. Taubman also reviewed this production, commenting that this version was "a distinct improvement over its predecessors." He also remarked that the opera now had a much more effective climax with the scene where Joan is lashed to the stake "taking on a fearful and piteous realism".
caption: Joan of Arc is interrogated by the Cardinal of Winchester in her prison 1431 by Paul Delaroche (1797–1856)
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