5 Facts About the 1934 Premiere of Four Saints in Three Acts

  1. The opera premiered on February 7, 1934, at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.
  2. It was composed by Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein.
  3. The production featured an all-Black cast, which was unusual for opera at the time.
  4. After Hartford, it moved to Broadway, where it ran for 48 performances.
  5. The opera is known for its surreal, non-narrative libretto and modernist score.