eliver his final line, only half singing, with the curtain falling on his line, Now Ill stop.Obviously Ive omitted a sizable portion of the story, and revised many of the aspects of Hemingways characterization. This was not an act of temporary insanity, however, as this too has precedence. In Giacosas version of Madame Butterfly he excludes several scenes. He also goes as far as to add characters, such as the Bonze, Butterflys uncle. He also drastically alters the dialogue including, in my humble opinion, the excellent choice of eliminating Cho-Cho-Sans ridiculous accent. Compared to these and other librettists alterations of classic works, my butchery of Hemingways tale doesnt seem so blasphemous.As I explained earlier, Im no musician. This, one would think, is a severe impediment to writing a serious opera. Well, one, in this case, would be absolutely right. So, undaunted, I turned to my associate Milton T. Festwinger and asked him to compose the music for my opera based on the vague instructions which I will now relate. First of all the voices of the players need to be considered. The actor that plays Francis Macomber should be capable of singing both as a tenor and a baritone. This way he can use the higher register until his coming of age and this will add to the audiences perception of his change toward the end of the opera. Wilson should be played by a bass, because he is the most grounded, sympathetic character until Francis transformation; and thus the audience should be more sensitive to his dialogue, particularly his interior dialogue that is manifested in soliloquy. Margot should be played by a soprano with the ability to reach a very high register; this will enable her to convey her shrewish nature to the audience in more than just words. The chorus and gun-bearers should be an ensemble of voices, but primarily baritones. As the opera begins, the music should have a very strong sense of rhythm while avoiding the brass and s...
