Live performance by Joy Jan Jones with pianist Chris Berg, Barbes, Brooklyn, NY August 5, 2016.

Based on an excerpt from the The Diary of a Lost Girl (1905) by Margarete Böhme, The Little Garden tells the story of a prostitute who finds herself in an unusual position — negotiating with an old, worn out aristocrat who lacks the financial means to afford her companionship. With a libretto by Elizabeth Byrne, this quirky opera features dancing, displays of male bravura, and ends with an unexpected acquisition by our clever and enterprising leading lady, all in about ten-minutes.

In its time, The Diary of a Lost Girl was a literary sensation, and a bestseller. The book was translated into 14 languages; turned into a play, silent movies; then banned and destroyed by the Nazis. When first published, many believed it to be a genuine diary, and the true-life story of Thymian, a young lady forced into a life of prostitution, and Böhme only its editor.

The Little Garden is the first of three unique opera shorts drawn from Böhme’s tale.

• for mezzo soprano & baritone, piano
• duration 15-minutes