Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera for its Opera Studio, Mark Adamo's Little Women premiered on March 13, 1998. The opera's libretto (also written by Adamo and available for sale, HL50484155) adapts Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about four sisters who come of age just after the American Civil War. Exploring three central themes of the book, Adamo's opera focuses upon Jo March's resistance to the passage of time. Powerfully theatrical and musically sophisticated, Little Women notably contains a wealth of memorable melodies and tuneful arias. A compact disc recording of Houston Grand Opera's production is available on Ondine ODE 988-2D as well; the production was recently seen nationwide in a high-definition television broadcast produced by PBS.
