The Big Bonanza: an Opera in Two Acts

based in part on the life and writings of
William Wright, alias Dan De Quille

Music by Monica Houghton
Libretto by Jon Christensen

Scenes from The Big Bonanza

The following is an overview of the Scenes in The Big Bonanza, presented with approximate durations. The entire opera lasts approximately 1 hr and 35 min.

You may also download a breakdown of scenes charted by Character appearance.

 

ACT I (46 min)

Winnemucca - Chief of the Piute Indians
  • Prelude (3 min)
  • C Street circa 1864, in front of a brokerage. (7.5 min)
  • Underground in the mine. (9.5 min)
    (including Interludes One and Two)
  • Inside a lively bar. (7.5 min)
  • The office of the Territorial Enterprise and the street outside. (9 min)
  • Outside Julia’s crib. (9.5 min)
    (including the “Zephyr Waltz”)

ACT II (47 min)

  • Edge of town with gallows. (12 min)
  • Inside an opium den. (8 min)
  • C Street circa 1875 and inside the Washoe Club. (11 min)
    (including Interlude Four)
  • The office of the Territorial Enterprise and the street outside. (8.5 min)
    (including Interlude Five)
  • Triptych: Dan in a hospital bed/Mark Twain at his desk in Connecticut/Caroline standing in an Iowa corn field. (7.5 min)
    (including Interlude Six)
 

Complete Scene Breakdown
(with audio selections, as highlighted)

Act I

Prelude: An orchestral prelude with pantomime depicting the discovery of silver by Henry Comstock and the departure of our hero for the American West to pursue his fortune, as Caroline sings, “Farewell!” Audio: "Prelude"

Scene 1: The curtain rises on Virginia City, Nevada, in full throttle circa 1860. The young mine owner John Mackay entices Dan, now a reporter for the local newspaper The Territorial Enterprise to come down into his mine to see the hot prospects.Audio: “I Might Have Been a Miner Myself” (Dan De Quille)

Interlude 1

Scene 2: Inside the steamy tunnels deep underground, the toiling, shirtless miners sing of the hazards they face there. A boy soprano sings of the worst of all perils--a fire in the mine.

Interlude 2

Scene 3: Dan meets his junior colleague, the young Mark Twain, in a lively bar. A séance is underway as the two men take turns dancing with Julia Bulette. Audio: “The Girl I Left Behind Me” (Julia Bulette)

Scene 4: In the office of The Territorial Enterprise, Dan finds a letter from Caroline, but sets it aside to work on his article about the mine, pausing at one point to reflect upon the beauty and grandeur of the desert landscape. When at last he picks up the letter, we hear Caroline sing of how much she misses her Dan. Audio: “Dear Will” (Caroline)

Interlude 3

Scene 5: Dan meets Julia outside her crib (house). Lamenting the absence of a woman in his life, his words become rambling and bizarre. Julia then sings an aria about the barrenness of her own life, at the end of which an unknown assailant murders her. Audio: “These Men of the Comstock” (Julia)

 

Act II

Scene 6: A chorus of townspeople is picnicking below a gallows. Mark Twain, now famous and living back East, has come to observe the hanging. Seeing that Dan has fallen on hard times, he suggests that his friend should escape the confines of the Comstock for a broader view of life. Jean Millean, the Frenchman convicted of Julia’s murder, proclaims his innocence to the end, even as the crowd chants, “Death to the Villain!”

Scene 7: Seeking oblivion inside an opium den, Dan remembers an evening when Caroline sang to him beneath the moon. The den owner, a Chinese named Zhang, sings about his own journey, coming to Gold Mountain to seek his fortune far from home. As if in a dream, desert creatures emerge from the darkness to dance a slow quadrille as dawn arrives. Audio: “I Came to Gold Mountain” (Zhang)

Interlude 4

Scene 8: Dan rushes into the Washoe Club to conduct an interview with John Mackay, now a wealthy mining mogul, for his forthcoming book The Big Bonanza. Mackay holds forth on the issue of the day: making money. Dan then shifts his attention to a meeting of the fledgling Miners’ Union that is underway across the street. The miners are deciding whether or not to continue working in unsafe conditions. Audio: "Live While You Live" (Curbstone Philosopher, Mackay and Sycophants)

Interlude 5

Scene 9: Alone at his desk in the middle of the night, Dan is putting the finishing touches to his book. He fingers an unopened letter from Twain (who has now become his publisher) then passes out at his desk. A fire breaks out in the town, and Dan rushes into the mayhem. John Mackay weighs whether to save the church or the mines: “The mines must be saved,” says Mackay famously. Audio: "There Is a Fire" (Chorus of Townspeople)

Interlude 6

Scene 10: Dan is recuperating in a hospital in Virginia City when he receives a letter with bad news concerning the sales of his book. Twain, from his desk in Connecticut marvels at Dan’s decline, while Caroline, standing alone in an Iowa cornfield is still wondering if Dan will ever come home to her.

 

For performance materials and licensing information please contact the composer:

Monica Houghton
2972 Claremont Road
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
USA
monica@monicahoughton.com
216-767-1650