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The Crucible

Robert Ward

Opera in 4 Acts
Libretto by Bernard Stambler
Based on the play by Arthur Miller

Voices:
      4 Sopranos, 2 Mezzo-Sopranos, 2 Contraltos,
      4 Tenors, 2 Baritones, 2 Bass-Baritones,
      Chorus of Girls, Mixed chorus ad lib

Instrumentation:
         2/2/2/2 4/2/2/0 T P H Strings

or reduced orchestration:
          2(Pic)/1(EH)/2/1 2/2/1/0 P H Strings

Length: 2 hours

Winner, PULITZER PRIZE, 1961

Winner, NEW YORK CRITICS CIRCLE CITATION, 1962
The story is Arthur Miller’s impassioned parable of witchcraft and intrigue in colonial Salem; a story of good and evil, in which bigoted men and women used the cry of “witch” to destroy those they hated or envied. The town of Salem has been seized by a wave of hysteria. The slave, Tituba, is accused by the wily and pretty Abigail, who uses the situation to destroy the community.
When the witch trial begins under the administration of the terrifying zealot, Judge Danforth, Abigail accuses Elizabeth, the wife of John Proctor, of witchcraft. Abigail hopes thereby to get Elizabeth out of the way and regain John’s affection. John remains loyal to his wife, however, even admitting in court to his adultery with Abigail in order to expose her fraud. He is not believed, however, and is himself arrested and, along with Tituba and other innocents, condemned to the gallows. In a blaze of courage at the opera’s end, John refuses to sign the false confession that would free him.
Premiered in 1961, The Crucible won both the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Critics Circle Citation the following year. Performed several hundred times since its premiere, The Crucible is one of the few contemporary American operas to have entered the repertory.

Piano/Vocal Score: Catalog No. 7.0028 available for sale

Libretto: Catalog No. 7.0147 available for sale

Full score & parts on rental only

At last week's performance… I was able to get a clearer idea of this opera, which is, of course, a study of the human conscience based on Arthur Miller's play about the Salem
witch trails. Again, the beauty, nobility, skill, power, and utter sincerity of Mr. Ward's
music bowled me over. If a finer opera has been written since the days of Strauss and Puccini, I have not heard it. … The Crucible is comparable to the greatest masterworks of the classical repertory, and I like to think of it also as an example of the true music of the future. It is, in short, music of the most inspired sort, written by a master of his craft.

—Winthrop Sargeant, THE NEW YORKER

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