“Nothing short of incandescent!”
–Variety


“The score is endlessly inventive...a splendid production.”
–All Music Guide


One of the 10 best Classical CDs of 2008.
–Bloomberg News

THE GRAPES OF WRATH, John Steinbeck's masterwork, deserves nothing less than the grand possibilities and conventions offered by opera, and Obie Award-winner Ricky Ian Gordon (composer) and Grey Gardens' Tony-nominated Michael Korie (librettist) meet the challenge splendidly in the Minnesota Opera's lauded world premiere opera.

Called "nothing short of incandescent" (Variety), THE GRAPES OF WRATH mesmerized critics and audiences with its originality and scope. Having "found the timeless and timely essence of Steinbeck's epic" (LA Times), Gordon and Korie stunningly refashion the truth-telling classic so that it even more powerfully resonates in the hearts of all who search for the American dream. THE GRAPES OF WRATH recreates the nostalgia and harsh reality of the 1930s dustbowl days, tracing the Joad family's journey from the ruin of their Oklahoma farm to the false promise of a better life in California. Performed by a world-class cast including Brian Leehuber, Kelly Kaduce and Deanne Meek, the opera magically combines the sounds of yesteryear with fresh innovative melodies and both profound and simple lyrics to tell an epic tale of love, loss and perseverance.

http://www.RickyIanGordon.com/

1. The Last Time There Was Rain
2. I Keep My Nose Clean; Where's Ya' Headin'?
3. So Long, Savior; I Baptized You; A Naked Tree a-Wastin' in the Sun
4. Gone; Not My Fault
5. Who Are You Cleanin' For?
6. Promise Me, Tommy
7. You Can't Keep a Joad in Jail; Not My Fault
8. Good Machine
9. Tricky Old Devil
10. Us
11. Soothing Syrup
12. The Plenty Road; Okies; Need Some Gas, Mister; Okies; The Plenty Road
13. Handbills
14. I Can't Tell You
15. We'll Find Work
16. The Zephyr; One Star
17. He Don't Understand
18. A Word for This Old Man
19. Act One Finale: Us (Reprise)

Disc Two (Act Two):

1. Truck Drivers
2. Dry Blue Night; We Can Be Quiet; Rest Peaceful, Mama; Septet: Dry Blue Night
3. Inspection Station
4. Like They Promised
5. My Plum Tree; No Work Here
6. The Fire in the Orchard; Ants on the Highway
7. Beg Your Pardon, Ma'am; Nice, Neighborly Place We Found Here; Hooverville? Where's Hooverville?
8. Hooverville's Anywhere
9. No One Is Goin'
10. I Shoulda Stayed Back Home; Don't You Fret None, Little One
11. Handbills; Into the Back, Tom
12. I Can Be a Help
13. Simple Child
    
    

Disc Three (Act Three):

1. People Again; See Ya' at the Hoedown, Ladies!
2. Square Dance
3. Hold on, Deputy; Handbills (Reprise)
4. Fried Dough; Ma, Ladies
5. Join the Line; Damn! Them Peaches
6. A Step Up the Ladder
7. Dry Blue Night; Evening Stroll
8. Things Turn Around; A Word for You, Old Friend
9. Dios Te Salve
10. That You, Ma?; Promise Me, Tommy (Reprise)
11. I'll Be There
12. The Day the Rain Began
13. We Couldn't Save It
14. Little Dead Moses
15. Barn Road... Night Gone (Reprise)
16. You Own This Barn?
17. Take It, Mister; One Star (Reprise)