Hugo Weisgall; Composer of Modern Operas

NEW YORK — Hugo Weisgall, a composer who explored life’s philosophical and moral dilemmas in such critically acclaimed modern operas as “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” has died. He was 84.

Weisgall, who had been hospitalized since a fall, died Tuesday, said Susan Woelzl, spokeswoman for the New York City Opera, which will perform his opera “Esther” next season.

“Six Characters in Search of an Author” was premiered in 1959 by the New York City Opera, which also gave the debut performances of Weisgall’s “Nine Rivers From Jordan” in 1968 and “Esther” in 1993. “Esther,” a three-act work, features the woman immortalized in the feast of Purim who led the Jews from Persia.

In reviewing the debut, The Times’ former music critic, Martin Bernheimer, mused approvingly: “Hugo Weisgall’s ‘Esther’ may, or may not, be a masterpiece. Time will let us know. . . . In this unabashedly massive biblical venture, Weisgall proves that he knows what he wants to say and, more important, that he knows how to say it. It is a rare achievement.”

The “Esther” score was originally commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, but later was taken over by the New York organization.

Weisgall, who emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1920, often based his compositions on literary classics and tackled social and moral dilemmas of the 20th century.

His musical style evolved from alternating symphonic structures and arias in his first opera, “The Tenor,” in 1950, to smaller musical segments following one character’s mood shifts in “The Stronger,” possibly his best-known opera. “Six Characters,” adapted from the play by Luigi Pirandello, fuses the two approaches.

Weisgall also composed orchestral, piano, chamber and choral works. In 1995, he won the $50,000 William Shuman Award, a lifetime achievement prize given by Columbia University to an American composer.