Duke Ellington's Queenie Pie
January 15, 2022
In the early fall of 2007, Marc was commissioned to complete Duke Ellington's unfinished opera Queenie Pie by Oakland Opera Theater. In 2009, the Center for American Music and the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin sponsored the Echoes of Ellington Conference, exploring the music and life of Duke Ellington. The conference featured talks by James Lincoln Collier, John Franceschina, and Marc and was held in conjunction with a staging of the opera and several "all Ellington" concerts. There, Marc presented his paper, "Realizing the Duke," reflecting upon the experience of realizing the opera. Four years later, Marc was given the opportunity to co-teach Ellingtonia with Drs. Steven Loza and James Newton—filling in for legendary jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, who had taught the course for nearly 40 years. Then, in Spring 2014, the Long Beach Opera, with the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unlimited, and Chicago Opera Theater—with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, co-produced the production of Queenie Pie. Most recently, Marc received a commission from the Lexington Philharmonic Society to produce a 15-minute suite of music from the opera to be premiered by the Lexington Philharmonic in collaboration with the University of Kentucky Opera Theater.
NPR's "All Things Considered" Segment
"Queenie Pie: Duke Ellington's Lost Opera, Forever A Work In Progress”
Chicago Tribune Review
"You can hear why Ellington had such high hopes for the piece. His original songs for 'Queenie Pie,' along with the interpolated Ellingtoniana, evoke the dangerous allure of Harlem in the '30s, dancing to the beat of sex and money. The music is a delight, especially as done up here in big-band arrangements by Marc Bolin [ . . . ] These irresistible Ellington tunes are linked together by orchestra-accompanied dialogue and song-and-dance numbers that COT's first-rate ensemble brings off sensationally well."
Long Beach Post Review
"Often, it's ambiguities lift it from the confines of the tangible, and lift it into the reals of the metephorical. It is at these moments that the piece feels most alive, teetering on the brink of greatness somewhere between the Duke's pen, the Harlem Renaissance, and now. Anyone with a love of jazz, opera or musicals and anyone with a curiosity towards what progressive performing arts in this city today looks like will have lots to relish and enjoy here."
LA Times Review
What we have of "Queenie Pie" are scraps: melodies for some songs, lyrics and indications of harmonies. But Ellington, whose way of composing was ultimately collaborative, never knew how he would ultimately fashion his material until he had started working with his band. The new arrangement is credited to trombonist Marc Bolin and Long Beach Opera conductor Jeffrey Lindberg..."Queenie Pie" obviously tantalizes. Long Beach Opera's production (which is a co-production with Chicago Opera Theater, where it will be given next month) reveals that the score's best moments are too good to let be lost to history."