The Inman Diaries
The Inman Diaries is an opera composed by Thomas Oboe Lee with a libretto by Jesse J. Martin. This portrayal of Arthur Crew Inman's life, as seen through his own writings was originally adapted from "Camera Obscura", a play by Lorenzo DeStefano (http://www.cameraobscuraplay.com) and "The Inman Diary: A Public and Private Confession", edited by Professor Daniel Aaron. From 1919 until he committed suicide in 1963, he created his 155 volume diary which contained over 17 million words, making it one of the longest recorded diaries in the English language. He was an obsessive recluse who was  committed to having his diaries published to establish his immortality. He would pay people to “talk” to him so that he could make a record of their stories. He was particularly interested in young women and was known to be sexually involved with some of these “talkers”. The opera is based on a 44-year period of his life, adapted so that the decades are condensed and time loses its relevancy. Production history. World Premiere: September 14, 2007, Boston, Massachusetts, commissioned and produced by 'Intermezzo: the New England Chamber Opera Series'.