A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT Opera to Premiere at Opera Montana
Composer Zach Redler and librettists Matt Foss and Kelley Rourke adapt Norman Maclean's classic novella.
In celebration of the book's 50th anniversary in 2026, Opera Montana will present the world premiere of a new operatic adaptation of Maclean's beloved story. With music by award-winning composer Zach Redler and a libretto by Matt Foss and Kelley Rourke, based on Maclean's novella, A River Runs Through It premieres on Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Ellen Theatre in Bozeman, with seven performances scheduled through Sunday, September 27. The opera will then premiere in Missoula, where some of the story is set, for two performances at the Dennison Theatre on Saturday, October 3 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 4 at 3:00 pm. Opera Montana Artistic Director Michael Sakir conducts the world premiere, with stage direction by Foss, scenic and video design by Kristin Ellert, and lighting design by Stephen Sakowski. Montana PBS will film the world premiere performances for a future broadcast.
Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It is a semi-autobiographical account of his relationship with his brother Paul and their upbringing in an early 20th century Montana family in which 'there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.' Originally published in 1976, it is recognized as one of the definitive American stories of the twentieth century and a classic depiction of the American West.
In the opera, as in the novella and in director Robert Redford's Academy Award-winning 1992 film adaptation starring Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer, and Tom Skerritt, brothers Paul and Norman are adults who have grown apart. Paul, always a free spirit, is in more trouble than he cares to admit. Meanwhile, Jessie, Norman's wife, is worried about her own brother, Neal, who has left Montana for California and seems to have lost his way. She hopes a family fishing trip will have a salutary effect for all concerned. On the river, Paul and Norman bond over Neal's hopeless big-city ways, giving Norman an opening to try to help his brother, but Paul brushes his concerns aside. When Paul realizes his troubles are mounting, he suggests that he and Norman travel home to visit their parents and take their father fishing. That fishing trip—which will turn out to be their last—is a snapshot of where they have come from, how their roles have shifted, and their abiding love.
The opera will feature an instrumental ensemble of 24 musicians and a cast of seven principal singers in the story's central roles. Baritone Schyler Vargas stars as Norman, the recently married eldest brother; tenor Michael Kuhn is Paul, the youngest brother, a newspaperman, gambler, and an artist with a fly rod; soprano Christine Taylor Price is Jessie, Norman's fierce, funny, loving wife; tenor Ryan Bryce Johnson is Neal, Jessie's brother; mezzo-soprano Megan Marino is Heidi ('Rawhide'), a local woman who fancies Neal and believes in love; mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella is Clara, Norman and Paul's mother; and bass-baritone David Pittsinger is John, Norman and Paul's father, a Presbyterian minister.
