Album Notes

The Gospel of the Red-Hot Stars

An operatorio in one act
Tom Baker

Produced by Seattle EXperimental Opera (SEXO)

During the frenzy of the witch hunts in 17th century
Massachusetts, Mary Webster was accused and
convicted of witchcraft. According to several historical
accounts, she was hung from a tree and left all
night to die. When she was cut down the following
morning, the townspeople were shocked to find that
she had survived the hanging and was still alive.
The Gospel of the Red-Hot Stars recounts the story of
Mary’s fateful night on the tree.

Cast
Mary Webster – Maria Mannisto
Paul Karaitis – Cotton Mather

Chorus
Will Dean
Liz O’Donoghue
Mark Johnson
Alissa Rupp

Orchestra
Julia Tai, conductor
Tom Swafford, violin
Jesse Canterbury, clarinet
Chris Stover, trombone
Tom Baker, guitar
Brian Cobb, bass
Greg Campbell, percussion

Recorded and mixed at Jack Straw Productions by Doug Haire
Mastered at Seattle Disc Mastering by Mark Guenther
CD Design by Mikiko Williams
Produced by Tom Baker for Present Sounds Recordings (www.presentsounds.com)
Present Sounds Recordings PS0801

Special thanks to Alissa Rupp, Doug Haire, Allison Van Dyck, Reed Nakayama, Toni Radonich, Greg Carter, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, 4Culture, Artist Trust, and the Seattle EXperimental Opera.


Libretto, photos and other information at: www.tombakercomposer.com/gospel.htm

The poem “Half-Hanged Mary” is from the poetry collection Morning in the Burned House by Margaret Atwood © 1995 Margaret Atwood, published in the U.S. by Houghton Mifflin. Adapted with permission of the author.