World Premiere of the Opera Gracchus
Composed by Stamford native David Hughes
STAMFORD, CONN., August 1, 2023 – The opera Gracchus, a new work by composer David Hughes and librettist Richard Munkelt, is set to premiere on August 19 at Stamford’s Palace Theatre.
The opera is set in the late Roman Republic, and its hero is Gaius Gracchus, who was Tribune of Rome in the 120’s B.C. The story, which is based on historical events and characters, concerns the intersection of Gaius’s civic and family life, and his overcoming political and personal adversity to achieve the destiny for which he was born. The work is scored for nine soloists, a chorus, and orchestra, and the premiere will be a fully staged production.
“It is a real thrill to have this opera, the fruit of many years of work, come to the grand stage,” said composer David Hughes. “I have been inspired from the very beginning by these dramatically compelling characters. I am particularly happy that the singers for whom I composed several of the roles will all be part of this premiere, and that they will bring their respective characters to life.” Many of the principal singers in the opera are based in Connecticut, and are well-known performers of opera and choral music in the New York area.
“I was born and raised in Stamford, and have lived most all my life in Connecticut,” Hughes continued. “My family had season tickets to the Stamford Symphony when I was growing up, and those performances are among my earliest and fondest childhood memories. My first experience of opera, in fact, was at the Palace Theatre. To return here to conduct my own first opera is a deep honor.”
“Gracchus is modern opera on a grand scale,” said librettist Richard Munkelt. “The opera’s ancient setting, the late Roman Republic, a period of socio-economic dislocation and factional strife, lends itself to an allegory of contemporary political history. Though based on Plutarch’s Lives, the story is an energetic fiction propelled by timeless questions of the human condition. It incorporates many of the marks of high classical drama: a titanic struggle to the death between two enemies, a ghost, a mysterious prophetess, betrayal of friendship, revenge, family strife, infidelity, reconciliation, emotional release, and the spilling and binding of blood. All this is elevated and crowned by a soaring musical score.”
The opera will premiere with a single performance at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut on Saturday, August 19 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are available at https://www.palacestamford.org/, and a synopsis of the opera and bios of the creators and cast is at https://gracchusopera.com/.
For further information, please contact George Melillo at 203-495-8240 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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