An Embarrassing Position

An Embarrassing Position is a short play written in 1895[1] by American author Kate Chopin,[2] which was adapted as a comic opera in 2010 by American composer Dan Shore.

The play

Chopin wrote An Embarrassing Position while living in St. Louis, Missouri.[2] She submitted it to the New York Herald drama competition, but did not win.[3] It appeared in the St. Louis Mirror on December 19, 1895.[4] Later, interest in her work grew, and in 1970 the play was published as part of Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories by the Library of America.[5]

The play has been studied as an example of early American literature; for example, it is included in Yvonne Collioud Sisko's book Looking at Literature: 12 Short Stories, a Play, and a Novel.

The opera

After Dan Shore rewrote Chopin's play as a comic opera, An Embarrassing Position was first produced by the New England Conservatory in 2010,[6] and went on to win a Big Easy Entertainment Award[7][8] and the National Opera Association's Chamber Opera Competition.[9] The opera has been praised for its lyricism[10] and its evocation of turn-of-the-century New Orleans.[11]

The opera was favorably reviewed in The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate in New Orleans.[12] and Gambit magazine.[13]

References
  1. "Kate Chopin" Archived September 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Writers' History.
  2. Emily Toth; Per Seyersted (22 October 1998). Kate Chopin's Private Papers. Indiana University Press. pp. 20–. ISBN 0-253-11593-0.
  3. Kate Chopin (1970). The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. LSU Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-4960-7.
  4. Bonnie James Shaker (1 April 2005). Coloring Locals: Racial Formation in Katie Chopin's "Youth's Companion" Stories. University of Iowa Press. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-1-58729-428-0.
  5. Zell, Martin Allen. "Stray Leaves: Portrait of the Artist with Two Heads" Archived 2014-09-12 at the Wayback Machine. NOLA Book and Literary News
  6. The Morning Call (March 5, 2011). "Allentown Native Wins Big Easy Award". Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  7. "Classical Arts Awards". Gambit: the Best of New Orleans.
  8. Coviello, Will (February 15, 2011). "Classical Arts Awards". Gambit Weekly. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  9. "Chamber Opera Competition". National Opera Association. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  10. Vella, Christina (November 12, 2010). "Xavier Opera Workshop and Shore". The St. Bernard Voice.
  11. Mahne, Theodore (July 26, 2013). "Gershwin's 'Blue Monday' and contemporary 'An Embarrassing Position' charm at Marigny Opera House". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  12. "Theater year in review: N.O. audiences had much to applaud in banner season". New Orleans Times-Picayune.
  13. Coviello, Will. "Review: Blue Monday and An Embarrassing Position ". Gambit: The Best of New Orleans.
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