Despite the show’s darkness, “East 100th Street”‘s exploration of Harlem in the ’60s is in many ways a testament to the endurance of love.
What is a Judicial Review? It is a fresh approach to creating a conversational, critical space about the arts and culture. This session deals with the Boston premiere of John Harbison’s opera version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Read the reactions and join the conversation. Opinions about the new movie version welcome as well.
The Great Gatsby. Music by John Harbison. Libretto by the composer after the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Additional lyrics by Murray Horwitz. Soloists, Orchestra, and Chorus of Emmanuel Music conducted by Ryan Turner. Presented by Emmanuel Music. At Jordan Hall, Boston, MA, May 12, 2013.
Introduction by Jonathan Blumhofer, Editor

Alex Richardson (Gatsby) and Devon Guthrie (Daisy) in the Boston premiere of “The Great Gatsby.” Photo: Julian Bullit
John Harbison’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was an opera a long time in the works: 14 years elapsed between Remembering Gatsby, a 1985 foxtrot for orchestra (which Harbison’s program note explains was adapted from an “abandoned” operatic setting) and the Metropolitan Opera premiere of The Great Gatsby in December 1999. It took another 14 for the piece to make its way up I-95 to Boston. Continue reading »





