The Imaginary Invalid

This listing covers the first of two instrumental part volumes (woodwinds, brass and percussion) for a three-act comic opera. The full score and the remaining parts are sold separately. The work reimagines Molière's roughly three-century-old comedy "Le malade imaginaire" as a new English-language libretto with original music by the American composer James Nathaniel Holland, who also adapted the story.

The plot follows a hypochondriac who runs a film studio in Hollywood. To cut costs, he plans to marry his daughter to the son of his celebrity physician. Meanwhile, his scheming, ambitious wife is working to take his fortune. Only his longtime secretary and business partner can rescue him and reunite the daughter with the young man she truly loves. The production is set in 1930s Los Angeles and includes early jazz touches and quasi-musical numbers.

The opera calls for a small cast of about eight singers: two tenors, soprano, mezzo-soprano, coloratura soprano, two baritones and a bass-baritone. There is no chorus, and the orchestra is relatively modest, which suits a university program or a small opera house. The instrumentation includes piccolo, flutes, oboe-family doubling reeds, clarinets, bassoon, horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, miscellaneous percussion, drum set, piano and strings. The running time is about 1 hour 45 minutes, and the material is suitable for all audiences. A video demonstration of the 2022 version, which adds two new arias, is available.