had picked up in a bar, one of whom he was said to have propositioned. He is buried at Chelten Hills Cemetery in Philadelphia. Personal life and family Blitzstein was openly gay. He wrote to his sister in 1929, regarding prior attempts to suppress or hide his orientation, "it is absurd to assume there are no sins; there are definitely Cardinal sins -- sins against oneself, against one's law. My sin is, has been... the willingness to corrupt my nature." His first lover was the conductor Alexander Smallens, with whom he traveled to Europe in 1924. Blitzstein nevertheless married novelist Eva Goldbeck on March 2, 1933. They had no children. His mother-in-law was Berlin-born musical star and opera singer Lina Abarbanell. He dedicated a number of works, including Romantic Piece for Orchestra (1930), String Quartet, 'The Italian' (1930), the ballet Cain (1930), and the Serenade for String Quartet (1932) to his wife-to-be. She died of anorexia in 1936, and his grief prompted him to throw himself into the work of creating The Cradle Will Rock. Selected works Triple-Sec (1928) Garrick Gaieties (1930) — revue — contributing composer (revival of Triple-Sec) The Harpies, opera (1931) The Condemned (1932, unproduced) Parade (1935) — revue — featured songwriter The Spanish Earth (1937) — composer with Virgil Thomson Caesar (1937) — play revival — incidental music composer Pins and Needles (1937) — revue — contributing bookwriter The Cradle Will Rock (1937) — musical — composer, lyricist, bookwriter, director, pianist, and actor in the roles of Clerk, First Reporter, and Professor Mamie Danton's Death (1938) — play revival — incidental music composer I've Got the Tune (1938) — radio opera No for an Answer (1941) Native Land (1942) The Airborne Symphony (1946) — symphony — composer Another Part of the Forest (1946) — play — incidental music composer Androcles and the Lion (1946) — play revival — incidental music composer Regina (1949) — opera — composer and orchestrator, librettist Let's Make an Opera (1950) — special performance — director King Lear (1950) — play revival — incidental music composer The Threepenny Opera (1954) — operetta revival — editor of Bertolt Brecht's book and lyrics into English Reuben, Reuben (1955) — opera Juno (1959) — musical — composer, lyricist and co-orchestrator Toys in the Attic (1960) — play — featured songwriter for "French Lessons in Songs" and "Bernier Day" Tales of Malamud (two one-act operas): Idiots