The Monkey's Paw is a one-act opera composed and adapted by Jonathan N. Kupper.  It was first drafted by the composer in 2000 along with playwright/lyricist, Rachel Sheinkin (winner of the 2005 Tony & Drama Desk Awards for best book of a musical: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee).  The piece originally came about as part of the creators' course work for the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University, and received its first public reading in May of that year.  Lying dormant over the next few years, Mr. Kupper ultimately resumed work on the project in 2008.  The piece was revised, rewritten, and expanded by the composer alone, and in January of 2009, The Monkey's Paw enjoyed its New York City premiere by V.I.N.O. (vocalists' initiative for new opera).

The Monkey's Paw is an adaptation of W.W. Jacob's chilling novella of the same name.  Since its publication in 1902, the story has become standard educational fare as well as a regular source of inspiration for various adaptations and spoofs, most notably (in more recent years) on the part of the popular cartoon television series, The Simpsons.

The running time of The Monkey's Paw is from 55 to 70 minutes. It requires a cast of four (mezzo soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass-baritone) and has accompaniment options ranging from piano and/or chamber group to full orchestra. Its subject, length, and production requirements make it perfect for educational and outreach programs, young artist programs, colleges and universities, vocal/opera/new music festivals, opera and musical theater camps/labs/programs, or a straight-on performance that provides the audience with around one hour of beautiful music and engaging theater.

 CLICK HERE to view & download production requirements for The Monkey's Paw...

To acquire a CD quality copy of VINO's January 22nd workshop and/or a printed score/libretto, please send an Email request to vino.productions@gmail.com ... There is no cost or obligation for interested performance organizations or education institutions; all materials are provided free of charge by way of VINO’s promotion budget.  Neither VINO nor the composer will 'pester' those who request a preview score/recording, but are nonetheless open to (and quite happy to receive) any & all suggestions, questions, comments, other, etc. that interested parties may have to offer after having reviewed the materials.   

Please enjoy the following MP3's of the January 22nd workshop of Jonathan Kupper's The Monkey's Paw.  All parts of the performance are available for your listening pleasure by way of the audio player located below (with the exception of the opening comments which have been omitted---because after all, did you really come here to listen to a bunch of talking?)...

CD quality copies of the performance are also available (see above).  The libretto can be viewed while listening to tracks 3 through 7 by clicking on the highlighted "lyrics" button located on the audio player.
 

Materials provided for preview and/or entertainment purposes only.  No part of this work may be duplicated or reproduced in any way without the express written consent of the copyright holder.  
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*Please note: due to the effects of the MP3 encoding process used by this web host, speaker volume should be placed on high for optimal clarity and overall quality of sound.

Featuring
(left to right)...

Dennis Blackwell - Storyteller/Sergeant/Messenger
Jessica Bowers - Mrs. White     
Raymond Diaz - Herbert     
Taylor Hargrave - Mr. White      
Mory S. Ortman - Musical Director/Accompanist