Scalia/Ginsburg

Scalia/Ginsburg is a 2015 comic opera (revised in 2017) by composer-librettist Derrick Wang about the relationship between Supreme Court of the United States Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[1] On November 7, 2020, it was broadcast via radio in the United States and streamed internationally on the WFMT Radio Network.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions
Comic opera by Derrick Wang
LibrettistDerrick Wang
LanguageEnglish
Premiere
11 July 2015 (2015-07-11)
Castleton Festival
Antonin Scalia
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Background

Historical background

The comic opera is about the relationship between Supreme Court of the United States Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[8] The work balances the personalities of the two justices, Scalia's bombastic temperament versus Ginsburg's more demure nature,[9] reflects their public disagreements versus their private friendship,[10] and highlights their shared love of opera.[11][12] The two justices often dined and attended the opera together,[13] and performed as supernumeraries in a 1994 Washington National Opera production of Ariadne auf Naxos.[14]

Composition history

Wang, a composer and dramatist with music degrees from Harvard and Yale, was a law student when he started writing the opera.[1][15] Inspired by Ginsburg and Scalia’s differing opinions, close friendship, and mutual passion for opera, he decided to dramatize their relationship in operatic form.[16] In 2013, he presented excerpts before Ginsburg and Scalia at the Supreme Court.[12][17]

Title

When asked why Scalia's name appeared first in the title Scalia/Ginsburg, Ginsburg explained not only that it "sounds better"[18] but also that everything at the Court is done by seniority.[18][19][20][21]

Style

Wang described the opera's underlying concept as "operatic precedent," by which the words and music consistently cite legal and operatic sources in the manner of a court opinion.[22][23][24] For example, Scalia enters singing a rage aria, whose 18th-century traditions reflect Scalia’s originalism, but Ginsburg’s first song evolves from opera to jazz to gospel and pop to reflect her philosophy of the evolving Constitution.[25][18][26][27] Wang's narrative mixes constitutional theory (originalism versus living constitutionalism) with important decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court,[28] and includes references to McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Morrison v. Olson (1988), and Bush v. Gore (2000).[29] The music mixes the compositional styles of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, and Bellini with "Verdi, Puccini, Christmas carols, 'The Star-Spangled Banner', and jazz."[23][29]

Performance history

The opera premiered at the Castleton Festival in Virginia on July 11, 2015, with Ginsburg attending;[30][31][32] the opera had two more performances there.[29][33] A revised version[34] premiered at the Glimmerglass Festival in New York on August 4, 2017, with tenor William Burden in the role of Scalia;[35][36] Justice Ginsburg attended the final performance.[37] During the 2018 U.S. midterm election season, Opera North produced Scalia/Ginsburg in venues including Saint Anselm College.[38][39][40] Additional productions were given by Opera Delaware,[41] Opera Naples,[42][43][44] Opera Carolina,[45][46] and Opera Grand Rapids.[47][48] The 2019 Opera Delaware production, with soprano Jennifer Zetlan in the role of Ginsburg, will be broadcast on radio in the United States and streamable internationally on November 7, 2020, on the WFMT Radio Network.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Publication history

In 2015, the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts published an early version of the libretto containing over 200 footnotes to legal and musical sources.[49] Both justices wrote forewords to the libretto.[15] One chapter of Ginsburg’s 2016 book My Own Words consists of excerpts from the libretto,[50][51] narrated and performed by Wang in the audiobook.[52][53] Ginsburg quoted the opera in her statement on Scalia's death[54] and cited it in her foreword to the book Scalia Speaks.[55]

Roles and their creators
Role Voice type World premiere cast[33]
Castleton, July 11, 2015
Conductor: Salvatore Percacciolo
Director: Maria Tucci		 Revised version[37]
Glimmerglass, August 4, 2017
Conductor: Jesse Leong
Director: Brenna Corner		 Radio broadcast[41][2]
Opera Delaware, November 7, 2020
Conductor: Sara Jobin
Director: Fenlon Lamb
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg soprano or mezzo-soprano Ellen Wieser Mary Beth Nelson Jennifer Zetlan
Justice Antonin Scalia tenor John Overholt William Burden Brian Cheney
The Commentator bass-baritone Adam Cioffari Brent Michael Smith Ben Wager

Synopsis

The play starts in the Supreme Court Building with Scalia confronted in the courtroom by the "Commentator". The Commentator has supernatural powers and seals the room, stating "No man shall enter." Once the room is sealed, Scalia is forced to defend his approach to the law and may only escape by passing three trials. Ginsburg, not a man, breaks into the courtroom to defend her friend Scalia and insists on taking the trials alongside him. The opera ends after the two undergo the trials together.[29]

References
  1. "Justice Ginsburg Explains the 'Scalia/Ginsburg' Opera". Bloomberg. October 2, 2019.
  2. "OD Radio Broadcasts: Trial by Jury & Scalia/Ginsburg". OperaDelaware. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  3. Cruickshank, Saralyn (November 6, 2020). "Forging friendships across political divides". The Hub. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  4. Obenreder, Gail (November 4, 2020). "OperaDelaware to run timely comic billing of 'Scalia/Ginsburg' and 'Trial by Jury'". Broad Street Review. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  5. "Scalia/Ginsburg/Wang: An Opera and Conversation about Forging Friendship across Ideological Divides". SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  6. "OperaDelaware | Programs". WFMT Radio Network. April 9, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  7. Dobrin, Peter. "Philadelphia's opera community pours its love for Ruth Bader Ginsburg". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  8. Bravin, Jess (December 2, 2014). "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Scalia? Set His Dissents to Music". Wall Street Journal (published December 3, 2014). p. A1. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  9. Totenberg, Nina (July 10, 2015). "Judicial Differences Take Center Stage In 'Scalia V. Ginsburg'". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  10. "Antonin Scalia Serenades Ruth Bader Ginsburg Over Gay Marriage With Bob Dylan Song". HuffPost. Reuters. October 8, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  11. Cox, Chelsey. "Fact check: It's true, Ginsburg and Scalia were close friends despite ideological differences". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  12. Totenberg, Nina (July 10, 2013). "Scalia V. Ginsburg: Supreme Court Sparring, Put to Music". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  13. Biskupic, Joan (August 24, 2009). "Ginsburg, Scalia Strike a Balance". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  14. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader (July 13, 2015). "My First Opera". Opera America. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  15. Scalia, Antonin; Ginsburg, Ruth Bader (2015). "Prefaces to Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions". The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts. 38 (2): 237. doi:10.7916/jla.v38i2.2118. ISSN 2161-9271.
  16. "Stealth Lawyer: Derrick Wang, Composer & Pianist". YouTube. Bloomberg Law. September 4, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  17. "Scalia and Ginsburg on Broadway". YouTube. TEDxBroadway. April 14, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  18. Sherman, Mark (August 6, 2013). "Scalia and Ginsburg inspire a new opera, 'Scalia/Ginsburg'". Salon. Associated Press. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  19. "Big Brains podcast: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg On Polarization, Discrimination and Her Favorite Dissent". news.uchicago.edu. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  20. "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Discusses the 2013-14 Term". YouTube. Duke University School of Law. August 4, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  21. "Justices Ginsburg and Scalia: An Unlikely Bond". gwtoday.gwu.edu. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  22. Jackson, L. Jay (December 1, 2013). "Opera based on Justices Ginsburg and Scalia is written by attorney". ABA Journal. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  23. Pentreath, Rosie (September 21, 2020). "Ruth Bader Ginsburg's love of opera transcended politics...and fuelled an unexpected friendship". Classic FM. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  24. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. "A Love Supreme for Ruth Bader Ginsburg". AARP. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  25. Langer, Emily (October 4, 2013). "Derrick Wang Discusses 'Scalia/Ginsburg,' His Opera about the Supreme Court Justices". Washington Post. p. E5. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  26. Galanes, Philip (November 14, 2015). "Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem on the Unending Fight for Women's Rights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  27. Richter, Nicolas. "Hört! Hört! Hört". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  28. Kennicott, Philip (July 12, 2015). "Scalia/Ginsburg: An affectionate comic opera look at the high court". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  29. Lat, David (July 16, 2015). "ATL Opera Review: Scalia/Ginsburg". Above the Law. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  30. Edgers, Geoff (July 8, 2015). "From 'rage aria' to 'lovely duet,' opera does justice to court, Ginsburg says". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  31. Heil, Emily. "'Scalia/Ginsburg' opera draws VIPs of the legal world". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  32. "Diva dissenter: Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18th". The Economist. September 23, 2020. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  33. Gallagher, Nicholas M. (August 6, 2015). "Opera Dicta". The American Interest. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  34. "Composing the Law: An Interview with Derrick Wang, Creator of the Scalia/Ginsburg Opera". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  35. "Opera Notes by Alexis Greene: Scalia/Ginsburg shouldn't be missed". Cooperstown Crier. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  36. Waleson, Heidi (August 16, 2017). "The New Faces of Opera". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  37. Sohre, James (August 23, 2017). "Glimmerglass Being Judgmental". Opera Today. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  38. "Opera North Schedules a Sharp-Edged, Contemporary Production". Valley News. September 5, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  39. "Opera Preview: "Scalia/Ginsburg" - Mining (and Minding) the Political Gap". The Arts Fuse. October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  40. Writer, Jim Lowe Staff. "Opera North's 'Scalia/Ginsburg': A much more fun look at the Supreme Court". Times Argus. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  41. Dohony, Erin. "OperaDelaware presents 'Trial by Jury' and 'Scalia/Ginsburg'". www.broadstreetreview.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  42. Heithaus, Harriet Howard. "Opera Naples takes its case for opera to the Supreme Court — just after 'Boheme'". Naples News. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  43. Heithaus, Harriet Howard. "Ginsburg, Scalia make for unique, funny opera in Naples". Naples News. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  44. Heithaus, Harriet Howard. "Naples Opera strikes gold with a double bill of 'Trial by Jury,' 'Scalia/Ginsburg'". Naples News. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  45. "SCALIA/GINSBURG". FOX 46 Charlotte. March 7, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  46. "Opera Carolina Presents Scalia/Ginsburg". QC Life. March 10, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  47. Salazar, David (March 17, 2020). "Opera Grand Rapids 2020 Review: Scalia / Ginsburg". Opera Wire. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  48. Kissane, John (March 16, 2020). "Art in the Time of COVID-19: Scalia/Ginsburg at Opera Grand Rapids". The Rapidian. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  49. Wang, Derrick (February 16, 2015). "Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions". The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts. 38 (2): 239–292. doi:10.7916/jla.v38i2.2119. ISSN 2161-9271.
  50. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader (2016). My Own Words. Hartnett, Mary; Williams, Wendy W. (1st ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 43–55, 341–350. ISBN 978-1-5011-4524-7. OCLC 946693458.
  51. Chemerinsky, Erwin (November 8, 2016). "Book Review: My Own Words". Washington Independent Review of Books. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  52. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, My Own Words [audiobook], Hartnett, Mary; Williams, Wendy; Lavin, Linda, Disc 2, Track 3, ISBN 978-1-5082-2628-4, OCLC 949219733, retrieved November 2, 2020
  53. Donahue, Joe (September 21, 2020). "Composer Derrick Wang Discusses His Opera 'Scalia/Ginsburg'". WAMC. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  54. Williams, Pete; Fieldstadt, Elisha (February 14, 2016). "Read Justice Ginsburg's Touching Tribute to Scalia: 'We Were Best Buddies'". NBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  55. Scalia, Antonin (2017). Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived. Scalia, Christopher J.; Whelan, Edward. New York: Crown Publishing Group. pp. x–xi. ISBN 978-0-525-57332-6.

Further reading
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