(in any version) in a production by Christopher Alden. In contrast to earlier responses, which had been lukewarm, Alden's production drew high praise from both critics and audiences. Roles Nota bene: the Opera America source here is misleading. At the premiere, on June 17, 1983, A Quiet Place did not incorporate Trouble in Tahiti but was performed after it, i.e. as a standalone work. Accordingly, the characters Dinah and Young Sam were not part of it. The next year (1984), when the earlier work was interpolated in the later opera in flashbacks, and in 1986 when a Vienna performance was recorded with the composer conducting, these roles could be said to be included, although cast lists still separated them from the four principal roles in A Quiet Place itself: Dede, François, Junior, and (Old) Sam. Synopsis (In the three-act form) Prologue A chorus sings scattered musical phrases such as "My Heart Shall Be Thy Garden", "Cakes and Friends We Choose With Care", and "Lost Time is Never Found". Some of these themes are repeated throughout the opera. Meanwhile, voices are heard in reaction to a car accident. The victim is Dinah, a wife and mother of two. Act 1 Friends and family gather at Dinah's funeral. Among the guests are Dinah's brother (Bill), her best friend (Susie), her psychoanalyst, her family doctor and his wife (Doc and Mrs. Doc), and eventually her children (Dede and Junior). Sam, Dinah's widowed husband, stands immobile and isolated in a corner. People are absorbed in their own thoughts and aren't communicating well. In a series of fragmented conversations, they discuss the circumstances of Dinah's death (the car accident from the prologue), mourn her loss and reveal some of what has happened to her family over the years. Dede and Junior live in Quebec with a French Canadian, François, who had been romantically involved with Junior, and is now married to Dede. Junior, who has a history of mental illness, has not seen his father in nearly 20 years, and Sam has never met his son-in-law. When everyone except Junior has arrived, the funeral director announces a ceremony of readings and reminiscences. Doc reads from Proverbs, Mrs. Doc from Elizabeth Barrett Browning (lines chosen by Sam); Bill and Susie offer spirited reminiscences of Dinah; Dede reads from Kahlil Gibran – until she breaks down in tears and François must read for her. Junior's unruly entrance