Two Baritone Arias

Young Thompson was captured as a POW in the Vietnam War. Now, as Old Thompson, he sings the Catalogue Aria after receiving a letter from Richard Nixon which warns that he might find some differences in the America to which he returns. Tom's pent-up frustration comes tumbling out in a sort of patter-rant in the contemporary musical language which the composer uses throughout the opera.

In the Congregation Aria, old Tom thanks his church for their acceptance and welcome upon his return home. The slow, expressive nature of the music hints at Tom's desire to return to a simpler life, and belies the fact that his family is, in fact, in complete turmoil. This juxtaposition of nostalgia and present reality is deeply moving.