[3] In 2015, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis mounted a major new production of Emmeline that won universal acclaim.

Many of the mill girls live in a boarding house directed by Mrs. Bass, who leads them in prayers and tries to promote their good behavior.

Emmeline is seduced by Mr. Maguire, a handsome Irish immigrant and factory supervisor who is married to the mill owner's daughter.

Hannah helps Emmeline conceal her pregnancy from her parents, and arranges for a couple to adopt her baby to raise as their own.

"[8]Steve Smith wrote a review of a 2009 production by Dicapo Opera Theater in a "slimmed-down version" provided by the composer in New York: "Mr. Picker effectively expresses character nuances and plot twists with powerfully direct vocal lines.

His potent orchestral writing evokes atmosphere, underlines conflict and conveys emotional tone with an emphatic directness.

Mr. Picker’s musical vocabulary is unapologetically conservative but never merely decorative, trivial or dull"[7]In 2015, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis mounted a major new production of his Emmeline that won universal acclaim from The Wall Street Journal, the Dallas News, and Saint Louis Today respectively: "one of the best operas written in the past twenty-five years"[9]“a work of gripping emotional intensity and extraordinary musical expressivity”[10]“the greatest American opera of the 20th century"[11]Tobias Picker: Emmeline (Patricia Racette, Anne-Marie Owens, Curt Peterson, Victor Ledbetter et al.; Santa Fe Opera; Conductor: George Manahan, 1996).