Miss Havisham's Fire Saint Louis revived the work in a new version by Argento that shortened the opera by more than an hour and made improvements to the work's dramatic structure. This production received a much more positive response from the press. Miss Havisham's Fire Miss Havisham's Fire is an opera in 2 acts by composer Dominick Argento with an English language libretto by John Olon-Scrymgeour. The work is loosely based on Charles Dickens' 1861 novel "Great Expectations", and centers on an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Aurelia Havisham. Commissioned by the New York City Opera, the work premiered on
Miss Havisham her. Miss Havisham's father was a wealthy brewer and her mother died shortly after she was born. Her father later remarried and had a son, named Arthur; with the family cook. Although they grew up together, Miss Havisham's relationship with her half brother was far from harmonious. She inherited most of her father's fortune and fell in love with a man named Compeyson, who conspired with the jealous Arthur to swindle her of her riches. Her cousin, Matthew Pocket, warned her to be careful, but she was too much in love to listen. On the wedding day, while she was