Guettel grew up in New York City's Upper West Side and performed as a boy soprano in operas including Pelléas et Mélisande at the Metropolitan Opera and The Magic Flute at the New York City Opera. Around the time his voice changed, Guettel began composing music, including one piece that Richard Rodgers overheard and asked Guettel to play louder. (Guettel has qualified the compliment, noting that "He was literally on his deathbed on the other side of the living-room wall.") The composer attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Yale in 1987.
His early works include 1996's Floyd Collins, Love's Fire, and Saturn Returns (which was recorded as Myths and Hymns). Guettel's music was almost immediately characterized by its complexity and use of various strings. He is perhaps one of the modern musical theater composers most heavily influenced by the work of Stephen Sondheim (for his part, Sondheim has referred to Guettel's work as "dazzling".) Guettel's songs have been recorded by such artists as Audra McDonald and Brian d'Arcy James.
After six years working on the project, Guettel's musical The Light in the Piazza opened on Broadway in 2005. The show, which starred Victoria Clark and Kelli O'Hara, was met with critical acclaim, and on June 5, 2005, Adam Guettel won the Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre for The Light in the Piazza. He also took home the award for Best Orchestrations for the same show.
In 2003, one of Guettel's future projects was said to be "a shockingly ambitious concert piece for Audra McDonald." The composer also spent much of 2006 working on a musical adaptation of The Princess Bride with original screenwriter William Goldman. As of January 2007, Guettel had completed several songs for the project. An orchestral suite from the score was performed at the Hollywood Bowl in November 2006, and Lincoln Center conducted a workshop of Bride in January 2007. The project was abandoned when Goldman reportedly demanded 75 percent of the author's share, even though Guettel was writing both the music and the lyrics.
Hero and Leander
Adam Guettel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a wave am I borne?
Borne to a new home across this lonely sea?
Could you be my Hero, heart afire?
My lighthouse on the shoreline-
Could you be that to me?
I need the rise and fall of your voice.
Oh, I love you,
And now I have a love to rejoice.
Hero and Leander, how your passion is brave.
Even if I drown here inside this wave,
My lighthouse on the shoreline,
My passion on this lonely sea,
My loving you was meant to be.
The lyrics of Adam Guettel's song "Hero and Leander" explore the intensity of romantic love and the desire for a deep emotional connection. The song's protagonist compares themselves to Leander, the mythological figure who swam across the Hellespont every night to be with his lover, Hero. The singer feels as though they are drifting on a wave, searching for a new home and a sense of belonging. They long for a partner who can be their "Hero," a guiding light to anchor them in the stormy sea of life.
The singer expresses their need for their beloved's voice, which provides comfort and reassurance in difficult times. The repetition of the phrase "I need you" emphasizes the intensity of this desire for connection. Yet, the singer is also joyful and celebratory in proclaiming their love, declaring that they have found something to rejoice in. The chorus's final line, "My loving you was meant to be," suggests a sense of inevitability and destiny in their relationship, as if their love was fated to happen.
Line by Line Meaning
Could I be Leander?
Am I capable of being the one who bravely loves and swims across the sea?
On a wave am I borne?
Am I being carried away by my emotions?
Borne to a new home across this lonely sea?
Is my love taking me to a new and better place?
Could you be my Hero, heart afire?
Can you be the one I love and admire, with burning passion in your heart?
My lighthouse on the shoreline-
Can you be my guide in times of darkness, leading me to safety?
Could you be that to me?
Can you fulfill that important role in my life?
Oh, I need you-
I cannot succeed without you.
I need the rise and fall of your voice.
I am comforted by the sound of your voice.
Oh, I love you,
I am deeply and strongly attached to you.
And now I have a love to rejoice.
My love for you brings me great joy.
Hero and Leander, how your passion is brave.
The two of us in love are courageous and daring.
Even if I drown here inside this wave,
Even if I am overwhelmed by the intensity of my emotions, I will continue to love you.
My lighthouse on the shoreline,
You are the one who guides me through life's treacherous waters.
My passion on this lonely sea,
My love for you is my only beacon of hope and connection in a desolate world.
My loving you was meant to be.
Our love for each other is predestined and fated to be.
Writer(s): ADAM GUETTEL
Contributed by Julian J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.