The Ballad of Baby Doe 1958 - Articles Page 5

Based on the lives of actual historical figures Horace Tabor, Elizabeth “Baby” Doe Tabor, and Augusta Tabor, the opera tracks their lives from Horace and Baby Doe’s meeting to the death of Horace. “Always Through the Changing” is a postscript ending foretelling Baby’s death. It is Moore’s most famous opera and one of the few American operas to be in the standard repertory. Especially famous are the title heroine’s five arias: “Letter Aria,” “Willow Song,” “I Knew it Was Wrong”, “Gold is a Fine Thing”, and “Always Through the Changing.” Horace Tabor’s “Warm as the Autumn Light” is also frequently heard. Distinguished sopranos who have portrayed Baby Doe include Beverly Sills (Moore’s favorite interpreter of the role), Karan Armstrong and Elizabeth Futral. At The Egyptian Theatre.