Jackie O (opera)

The 90-minute work, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera in 1995 and premiered in 1997, is inspired by American musical and popular culture of the late 1960s and episodes in the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

The opera's Canadian premiere took place on August 7, 1997 at the Banff Centre in Alberta, conducted by Bruno Ferrandis.

Co-produced by Houston Grand Opera's Houston Opera Studio and the Banff Centre, the premiere production was directed by Nicholas Muni, with sets and costumes by Peter Werner, lighting design by Harry Frehner, and choreography by Bruce Brown, who also created the role of Paparazzo.

[5][6] Act I begins with a "happening" in artist Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, attended by various celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Aristotle Onassis, and his lover, Maria Callas.

Callas realizes that Onassis is going to leave her for Jackie and sings Addio Del Passato (Goodbye to the past).

(Scored for solo cello, flute/piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, percussion and piano, the piece had previously premiered on its own in 1996 and forms the leitmotif of Jackie in the opera.