Bridge Bear And Cloak ~ An Opera Triple Bill

In Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge, the private thoughts of each card player are brought to light. Less has been said by many longer operas.

Il tabarro (The Cloak) is thought by some to be Puccini's finest work. Set on a barge on the Seine, it is a drama of jealousy, passion and murder.

William Walton's The Bear is a sparkling tale about how the boorish Smirnov demands from the young and beautiful widow Madame Popova the settling of her late husband's debts. The action includes a fierce argument and a threatened duel.