Hem­ing­way was a larger-than-life personality. In his popular novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, there is a bit of the author in the character of Robert Jordan, an idealistic young American in 1930's fascist Spain, who accepts a doomed mission to blow up a bridge.

Through his lyrical melody-driven music, Brian Wil­bur Grund­strom brings out the emotional depths of the characters and new insight to this Hem­ing­way classic. Using the full versatility of opera, David Dorsen's libretto and Grund­strom's music explore Hem­ing­way's themes of trust, loyalty, honor, love, betrayal, fear, pain, loss, and sacrifice, while adding modern insight, as his notions of honor clash with the reality of the situation.

The opera takes place in the mountains of northern Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.

November 20, 2022 at 3pm

Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G Street NW, Washington DC 20005