Composer’s Statement

It takes a lot of nerve for a composer to look at a literary masterpiece and think,
“What I have to say about this work is significant enough to justify turning it into
an opera,” so it was with loads of trepidation that I approached Why I Live at the
P.O., one of the greatest comic stories ever written. But, somehow, here it is, and
UrbanArias has given it a gorgeous production with a remarkably engaging cast.

These are a few of my reasons for being so certain that this was a story just
begging to be made into an opera…

— The world needs more operatic comedies that are actually funny. Eudora
Welty’s zany, hilarious story, in Michael O’Brien’s smart and wise libretto,
provides practically fool-proof material for an opera that leaves audiences (and
the singers) laughing.

— Sister is such a vivid and memorable character–how could you not love her?
She’s cantankerous, unreliable, self-pitying, catastrophizing, but can’t we all relate
to at least some of that? And the fabulously idiosyncratic language Welty gives
her! Who wouldn’t want to spend a warm summer morning leaning in at the Post
Office window, listening to her colorful tales of family woes?

— The characters are all lovable in their own ways, even the Machiavellian Stella-
Rondo. Welty has made them fully alive on the printed page, but I longed to see
and hear them alive on a stage, embodied by singing actors. What would they
sound like? How would they interact? At every point in writing the opera, my goal
was to create characters that would delight singers and give them opportunities
to shine and blossom. The singers who have played these roles have given every
indication that they’ve fallen in love with the characters; my hope is that you will,
too, and that other companies will have the fun of introducing them to new
audiences.

                      -Stephen Eddins, Composer