Commission the full opera, Believers, by composer Richard Maltz.
Believers is an opera about the curse of the Bambino. When the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, they did something that they hadn't done since they sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920.
To hear clips from the prologue to Believers, click here.
To see notated music of the prologue to Believers, click here.
Synopsis of the entire opera:
Prologue
The night before the 100th world series, outside the left-field wall of Boston's Fenway Park (the Green Monster), Hermie Buck is to meet his partners in crime.
Buck is a veteran baseball player who has no knowledge of team concept. He plays only for personal accolades. Although he has been a mediocre ballplayer all through his career, this year he has led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series. He has fallen in with the wrong element, however, and plans to throw the series for monetary gain. He doesn't realize that he is the reincarnation of Babe Ruth, and that his destiny is to remove the curse of the Bambino from the Boston Red Sox.
He runs into his girlfriend, Helen who is worried about him. She warns him to be careful but he cruelly sends her away. He then approaches the Green Monster where he meets Kroyn and Harrigan (two members of organized crime). He witnesses the brutal beating of a man who had double-crossed them. The man is stabbed in the heart and dies at the feet of the Green Monster. Buck and the criminals discuss sabotaging the fourth game of the World Series, from which illegal gamblers could profit. (The Red Sox lead the St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to none.) The criminals remind Buck that he too will profit greatly from the fix but warn him that if he backs out his fate will be the same as the man that was knifed to death.
Act I
Scene one takes place just before the fourth game of the World Series begins, in the stands at Fenway Park. The fans are excited for their team to be in the driver's seat at the World Series. With Buck on their team, maybe this time the Red Sox will finally break the curse of the Bambino. Helen and two of the fans reminisce about the agony caused by the curse: Johnny Pesky holding the ball too long in the 1946 World Series, Bill Buckner letting the easy ground ball trickle through his legs in the 1986 World Series. They also recall the times of joy: Yaz’s stellar performance during the 1967 season and Pudge Fisk’s victorious home run in the 1975 World Series. The trio point out the mythical quality of the Green Monster. It either swallows up or spits out baseballs hit in its direction. It taunted them as it exhaled and inhaled the shot off of Pudge’s bat before it yielded to his beckoning and invited the ball to sail over its head. It let out a loud belch after it sucked up and swallowed the pop-up off the bat of rival New York Yankee, Bucky Dent, to foil Boston’s chances for a World Series appearance in 1978.
Scene two takes place in the Boston dugout in the bottom half of the first inning. Buck deliberately dropped a fly ball in the outfield forcing the Red Sox to have to play catch up early in the game. In the dugout with Buck is Old Timer, a phantom that Buck alone sees, although he doesn‘t realize it.
Old Timer is the embodiment of the curse of the Bambino; the composite of every Red Sox player that ever let down a Boston fan. He has witnessed every disappointment and is absorbed by agonizing guilt. He yearns to be released from the curse but can only do so if he can convince Buck to choose selflessness over selfishness.
Old Timer accuses Buck of trying to throw the game. He attempts to explain to him that he, Buck, and every player on the team can break the curse of the Bambino. He explains that Buck must fulfill his destiny to remove the curse. He says that the only way to remove it is to bring the spirit of the Babe home. Buck, disturbed by the old man’s intrusion into the dugout, obviously sanctioned by somebody, thinks the old man is crazy. He asks him how he can bring home a dead man. Old-timer begins to revisit specific Red Sox player disasters to illustrate the history of the curse. He tells of the bad luck bestowed upon the Red Sox that began with the deal that sent Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.
Scene three takes place in the New York Yankees front office, 1920. Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, New York Yankees co-owner Colonel Huston, and Babe Ruth (the greatest baseball player of all time) are hashing out a deal over beer and cigars. Harry tries to defend selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. He tries to make it seem like he is truly interested in the future of the Boston Red Sox, but he is only trying to raise money to finance a business deal. Babe Ruth has always been happy in Boston but a salary dispute with Frazee is forcing his hand to sign with the rival New York Yankees. The Colonel tries at every opportunity to grease the deal and teases that the consequence of the deal may be a curse.
Scene four begins in the stands in the bottom of the fourth inning. Fans tell what it’s like to live their dreams through their heroes at the ballpark. They feel a collective stab in the heart as Buck feebly strikes out with a chance to score the tying runs. Old Timer continues the history lesson. In a flashback to 1946, Red Sox all-star shortstop Johnny Pesky laments the hesitation throw that earned him the blame for the loss of the 1946 World Series. Teddy Ballgame failed to play up to his potential in the 1946 World Series and was in part to blame for the loss. He tries to console Johnny by explaining that it was he who was responsible for the series loss. Old-timer is there and shares the pain of unfulfilled dreams, identifying with Johnny and Teddy.
Scene five begins in the top half of the seventh inning. In the stands the fans expect the Red Sox to lose but express their loyalty to the chronic underachievers. Kroyn and Harrigan (also in the stands) expect them to lose for very different reasons. On the field, Buck makes a second costly error. At the end of the inning, the fans boo him as he comes off the field. Old-timer knows that Buck is trying to throw the game and continues the history lesson up to the 1986 World Series. In a flashback to 1986, Bill Buckner allows a slow ground ball to trickle through his legs. It was the worst stroke of bad luck in the history of the Red Sox since the sale of Ruth, and the most obvious evidence of the curse of the Bambino. Buckner describes what it’s like to be known forever as a scapegoat for his error. Old-timer was there and once again shares the pain of unfulfilled dreams. Johnny and Teddy, Buckner and Old Timer lament being the all-stars of the curse.
Act II
Scene one is in suspended time. Three men tell of the darkest tragedies that lie deep within the curse of the Bambino. Golden Harry died of a blood clot at the age of twenty-five. Jimmy Piersall had a nervous breakdown in the middle of a ballgame. Tony C was felled by a fastball to the head and later, permanently paralyzed by a heart attack before the age of forty. They are trapped in Boston Red Sox Purgatory and plead to be released from their fate.
Scene two takes place in the middle of the ninth inning. In the stands, the fans argues whether the curse is real or superstition. In flashbacks, Yaz describes the joy of going to the ballpark when you’re winning, and Pudge describes the ecstasy of hitting a home run in the 1975 World Series. Old-timer describes the agony of standing next to greatness yet never achieving it. His penance is to warn those at risk of perpetuating the curse with immoral behavior. He knows he will never identify with greatness until the wrong of the past has been righted.
Scene three takes place simultaneously in different times. Johnny, Teddy and Bill Buckner plead with Buck to do the right thing so that they, Golden Harry, Jimmy Piersall and Tony C, and all of Boston can be released from the curse. The two criminals warn Buck not to be tempted by morality or his fate will be that of the double-crosser who was beaten and stabbed to death. Old-timer joins the pleas of Johnny, Teddy and Buckner not only to help Buck redeem himself, but also to be released from his own plight. After wrestling with the respective consequences of selfish monetary gain verses selfless sacrifice, Buck chooses the latter. As he steps up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance to bring victory to the Red Sox, the image of Babe Ruth in a magnificent Boston Red Sox uniform appears atop the Green Monster. Buck swings his bat and a mighty crack is heard. Roaring anticipation is heard from all.
Epilogue
The epilogue continues from the crack of the bat in the bottom of the ninth inning. Buck briefly steps back, hesitates and then begins the run around the bases which he accomplishes with increasing difficulty. He finally crosses home plate and is surrounded by his team. Old Timer tips his hat in Buck’s direction, then taps a security guard on the shoulder. The guard turns to the invisible prompt just in time to see one of the gangsters trying to melt into the crowd, a sawed-off rifle clearly tucked into his coat. Buck is now crumpled on the ground. The police scuffle with the gangster, whose accomplice is also apprehended. Helen is led onto the field as the team clears a space for her. As Old Timer fades completely, the figure of the Babe on the crest of the Green Monster tips his hat toward Buck‘s lifeless body.
