Down in the Valley

• World Premiere (1948)
  Bloomington, IN
• Television Production (1950)
• Equity Library Theatre Revival (1965)
  New York, NY

Click on the title for info on the song.

Original score

• Down in the Valley
• Where Is the One Who Will Mourn Me When I'm Gone
• Brack Weaver, My True Love
• The Lonesome Dove
• The Little Black Train
• Hop Up, My Ladies
• Hoe-Down

Recordings listed here were done in the studio specifically to release as recordings. They do not represent cast recordings of a particular production.

• Studio Cast (not listed yet)
  

  • Alfred Drake (i)
  • Jane Wilson
  • Daniel Slick
  • Norman Atkins
  • Leonard Kranendonk

First written in 1945 as a trial radio production for a series of short operas, each based on a folk song or popular ballad. The audition recording made failed to convince advertisers that the series would have popular appeal so the series never became a reality. The first version did not contain 'Where Is the One Who Will Mourn Me When I'm Gone' and 'Brack Weaver, My True Love' which were added to the stage version. This one-act American Folk Opera was created for non-professional groups such as the music and drama departments of colleges and universities. Parts of the score are based on American folk tunes such as 'Sourwood Mountain' and the title song. It was first broadcast on NBC radio, 7 Aug 1948, and was the first o?pera to be telecast on the NBC Opera Theatre, 14 Jan 1950.