Abelard and Heloise, an opera by Robert Ward, which was performed in Charlotte. NC in 1982 and at Duke University, is a large scale opera, with a double plot: the tragic love affair between Abelard and Heloise leading to Abelard’s forced castration and the battle between faIth and reason. It is a magnificent work that deserves performance. It was recorded by South Carolina television but was never released due to lack of funds to pay the orchestra recording fees.

“Abelard and Heloise,’ an opera by Robert Ward, is a powerful theatrical work about the conflict between faith and reason as well as a beautiful but fateful love affair. The opera was performed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1982, of which I was the producer and conductor. It is one of Ward’s most powerful works, one that deserves performances by the nations opera companies.

Richard Marshall, producer and conductor