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Go inside the walls of This House with librettists Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber, and composer Ricky Ian Gordon, as they reflect on the opera’s deep emotional roots, its intergenerational storytelling, and the Harlem brownstone that refuses to be forgotten. This intimate note from the creators builds on their recent appearance at the Guggenheim’s Works & Process series, where audiences got a first look at the soul of this new work.

A Note from the Librettists

by Lynn Nottage & Ruby Aiyo Gerber

Two generations of the Walker family inhabit a majestic Harlem brownstone, once home to salons and rich social gatherings. Now it keeps its inhabitants suspended in time as the external world continues to revolve around them. Outside, the surrounding neighborhood is being devoured by gentrification and Black displacement, Black homes and histories erased — lost to gut renovations, the sterile chill of central A.C., and the disappearance of traditions that once defined Harlem’s heartbeat. Yet, this house refuses to surrender. As such, the house has become a form of resistance; a repository of family history and memories. The occupants, the Walker family, are tethered to the brownstone, but at times they are not sure whether they are prisoners or protectors. 

At the heart of the opera is a conversation between generations. As collaborators —and as mother and daughter — we found an intimate, expansive, and emotional vocabulary to excavate the rich lives of the Walker family. In doing so, we also found a way to explore our own relationship: the tensions and tenderness, the inheritance of memory, and the weight of what it means to hold on — or to let go.

It has been a joy watching composer Ricky Ian Gordon awaken the inhabitants of the Walker brownstone and bring them so gloriously to life with his evocative, soulful, and beautiful music. Ricky is a brilliant storyteller with the rare ability to illuminate the emotional depths of his characters through sound. We are so thankful to be in collaboration with James Robinson, whose vision and artistry have helped to shape this opera into something truly special.

A Note from the Composer

by Ricky Ian Gordon

Working with a mother and daughter the likes of Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber deserves an essay of its own. Few would dispute that Lynn is one of the most brilliant and celebrated playwrights in the world. Her expertise at plot construction, character development, and the overall scaffold that keeps a play a taut and compelling creation are unquestionable. But her instinct to bring her brilliant poet daughter into our process, and her trust that it was Ruby’s idea we should musicalize — a play Ruby had written at Brown University, where Lynn also went — ended up being gold.

This unique look at a century-old house in Harlem and its inhabitants — a long line of colorful characters in compelling and moving situations — afforded me a way to get out my entire palette and paint each character in a musical vocabulary that I felt, instinctively, suited them: jazz, ragtime, serialism, American popular song, stride piano, hard rock…you name it, basically, a musical walk through a century and a quarter. So often, I would be setting absolutely beautiful text to music, and I would write to Lynn and ask, “Who wrote this?” And she would always write back, “The magic of Ruby.” What a privilege it has been to create this opera with two such jewels.

There is far too great a risk of revealing spoilers when writing about this opera. A young couple, Zoe and Glenn, are expecting a child, and they contemplate raising their family in the house Zoe grew up in. We meet them on the stoop of the brownstone. More, I cannot say, except this: it gives new meaning to the phrase, “If these walls could talk.” Even the house sings!

Suffice it to say, I am very excited to bring This House to you with our tremendous cast, the wonder of my dear friend, Jim Robinson, directing our fourth collaboration! The great Daniela Candillari conducting, Allen Moyer designing the set (my fifth opera with him)! And…there is my dear friend, almost brother, Bruce Coughlin, who works with me on my big operas when we orchestrate together, whose ears I would not want to be in a world without. And all the new and wondrous people I have met creating This House. That’s how it is. A composer sits alone in his room for a few years — which can be lonely, frustrating and isolating — but at the end, there is a room full of people, and you can be satisfied knowing you have created this rich and varied community. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to bring this to you. 