Bandanna
An Opera in Two Acts and A Prologue
By Daron Hagen

Wow. I just listened to the recording of this opera, following along in the score. The tunes are thrilling; the craftsmanship amazing. It has one foot in verismo, the other in musical theater: Billy Bigelow meets Iago on the Texas panhandle. Wierd and exciting, passionate and bracing, this opera is...

a testosterone-fest for the three male leads and a painfully intimate break-out moment for the female lead. Is this piece too intense and stylized, too much an artistic hybrid/mongrel for American opera companies? Maybe.

There is a dissonance between the music and words for this opera that mirrors the story, which is all about the union of opposites. Hagen's music is incredibly sophisticated, so sophisticated that his humanity as an artist is given expression in the concealment of that sophistication; Muldoon's verbal...

razzle-dazzle becomes tiresome and distracting, but Hagen's music keeps drawing the audience back to the story, the characters, the tragedy. Hagen clearly chose Muldoon for a reason: like the oyster creating a pearl out of sand, Hagen spins the skein of Muldoon's words into a beguiling operatic tapestry.

This is an amazing American opera, filled with great tunes and sophisticated vocal characterization. Juicy male roles and an eleventh hour "willow song" for soprano that kills make this an important addition to not just the opera but also the band repertoire. The orchestration alone is a how-to for...

those contemplating writing for winds with wind orchestra. Check out the Albany CD under the composer's baton -- thrilling.

"Bandanna" is a modern opera that grabs your attention, holds it, and leaves you glad that you heard it. A fine orchestration for wind orchestra. Also check out Hagen's "Vera of Las Vegas" and other works.