Festival O22’s Opera on Film Fits Right In: Comments on “Like, Share, Follow”

Hooray! Opera Philadelphia’s fall opera festival is back and is expanded. They’ve added an Opera on Film section this year to Festival O22.  OP’s innovative, annual opera festival was forced into hiatus by the pandemic for the last two years.  The film portion runs the last six days of two weeks of staged performances, September 22 – October 2.   Opera on Film seems a natural expansion given the existence now of its Opera Philadelphia Channel streaming service; the Channel was initiated as a creative response to the COVID shut down of live, in theater performances.  The first of three film events involving short films took place on Wednesday evening, named “Like, Share, and Follow”, a mixture of seven, recent 5 to 20-minute films of varying degrees of operatic nature.  Opera Philadelphia’s Frank Luzi and Sarah Williams working with a screening panel of film specialists received over 800 submissions of films to consider alongside ones from OP’s Channel.  Mr. Luzi explained in opening comments that the title for the evening’s short films derived from the first two films: the first premiered on Instagram and the second was about social media’s effects; he joked that the rest were chosen because the panel thought they were really neat.  After having spent many hours over the last couple of years viewing videos on the Channel, I was looking forward to this new part of the annual festival.

Here is Wednesday night’s line up with directors followed by producers listed after the titles; those titles highlighted have links to websites where the film can be viewed online as of this posting.

Among the Flowers  (2021) – Patrick Eakin Young; the Royal Opera House

Corsair (2020) – George Cederquist; Chicago Fringe Opera

Someone Like Me (2018) – Adam Taylor; Obadiah Baker

The Two Hot Shots (2021) - George Moïse; A Lab Studios  

A Jarful of Bees (2021) – Natalie Frank and Erin Pollock; Paola Prestini

Rumspringawakening (2019) - Adam Taylor; Obadiah Baker

Heroes of New York (Brian Gonzalez and Malena Dayen; Bare Opera

I offer a few comments about my initial reactions to each film seen once as part of a package of all seven, mainly intended to pique the reader’s interest in these and other filmed versions of opera.

Film still 1: A young man staring intently at his Facebook post in Someone Like Me. Film still 2: A painting from A Jarful of Bees. Images courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Among the Flowers is an “Instagram Opera” that confronts the viewer with a barrage of images, mostly flowers, some birds and hands and bleak scenery, with a poetic song by a woman whose life was once blest, and now using her phone, she revisits her memories.  The film left this viewer experiencing melancholy and wanting to cling tightly to the here and now.

Corsair was a very slick production complete with gorgeous people who could have stepped out of a fashion magazine photographed in Chicago, said to be based on a story from the “Decameron” as a sailor journeys “from greed to humility”.  The man is washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan and is a baritone and a hip-hop artist who is paired with an opera soprano.  For me it was the mix of opera and hip hop that provided the greatest interest.  I hope they explore more in this area.

Someone Like Me offers an interesting double entendre as young people search for people like themselves on the internet and hope that someone (in the thousands) will like their Facebook post.  Who knew breakfast could cause so much depression or elation or mating possibilities?  This film is both sheer fun and a caustic look at how social media exploits our vanity and self-doubts, controlling our lives in both obvious and insidious ways.  Of course, you are immune to all that, right?  Watch this film and profess it again, if you can.  Be sure to like this blog post.

The Two Hot Shots is a delightful modern comedy adapted from Rossini’s Otello, one of O22’s stage productions.  Two macho men waiting in a hospital room for their COVID shots have a verbal battle with each other over who will man up and go through with getting their arm punctured, while at the same time extolling the virtues of getting the shot.  The filmmaker found a clever way to encourage people to get vaccinated, while giving us an amusing opportunity to hear a little Rossini sung in a modern setting, perhaps a shade darker than if the rivals had been Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.  Why didn’t Warner Bros. think of that?

A Jarful of Bees begins with a painting of a woman who is singing.  As she sings, the patches of color appear on her face in motion, distorting her face.  While this film was highly colorful and artsy, I would have needed subtitles to follow the words and was baffled as to its intent, though viewed simply as visual art with shifting paintings and Claymation figures, it generated interest.  OP’s program notes state, “A multimedia, immersive short film on the transformation of memory and the mutability of familial relationships.”  I’d like to say more, especially since the libretto is by Royce Vavrek and is sung by mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, but I’d have to see it again.

Film Still 1: The young couple experiencing New York City together in Rumspringawakening. Film still 2: A neighborhood shop owner in Heroes of New York. Images courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.

Rumspringawakening is a funny and heart-warming coming of age tale of a young Amish man, who is allowed to sin for a day in New York City and then decide if he wants to rejoin the Amish community.  His spouting of obscenities for the first time is amusing the same way it is when a child uses a “bad” word, and quite a few “bad” words are said.  It manages to exalt most of the arts while the young man and his newfound female more-than-a-friend roam around Times Square and Central Park.  The scene near the end with the young man and his girlfriend had a special charm.  It could only have been improved by having Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the roles with some top-notch dancing thrown in.

Heroes of New York was my favorite film of the evening, so last but not least.  It tells the tale of five New Yorkers that play important roles for the city but go about their business without public recognition, if appreciated at all – a young immigrant physician, an environmental activist, a store shop owner, a specialist in love for sale, and an aspiring singer.  The film presents their trials and reveals their importance to the fabric of the city.  As the young physician emphasized repeatedly, we have to take care of each other - her mother taught her that.  Whether new opera or old opera, love and connection are winning themes. 

The films, as a group, are a mixture of concepts in storytelling, some straightforward in telling their story and others less well defined, requiring more of the viewer.  A wide variety of musical styles are employed, most original with some borrowed, typically orchestrated effectively with relatively few instruments.  The films were presented one after the other without a break.  The overall impact for me was like circulating at a dinner party where each guest you talked to had an interesting story to tell or perspective to reveal…well, if each guest was a highly talented performing artist. 

Much is made about what is proper subject matter for an opera; an opera is supposed to focus on grand passions and the extremes of human behavior.  However, a major attraction for these operatic works for me is how fresh they feel. They are about people struggling with the problems and pressures of life today, my tribe.  And being films, they provide directors new artistic opportunities for creative expression not possible on the stage.  Shifts in location or time, no problem.  Watching a character’s face melting, no problem.  None of these films could have been presented in the same way, if at all, in staged performances.  I hope we see this area grow alongside staged opera;. In fact, these films were really neat and often affecting.

The Fan Experience: The Opera on Film section of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22 runs September 27 to October 2 at the Philadelphia Film Center in Center City.  Matinee and evening showing times were utilized, but each film was only shown once.  The schedule can be found at this link.  COVID vaccinations and masking are no longer required, but are strongly recommended; some people were masked and some were not. 

I liked the Philadelphia Film Center, and it was a short walk from the downtown hotel where my wife and I stayed, close to all the venues for Festival O22.  Admittedly, it would have been more challenging coming from the suburbs for a 6 pm start, dealing with rush hour traffic and parking.  On the other hand, restaurants downtown are a treat; we enjoyed the pizza from Alice’s once more; love that crust and the many, many pizzas available.

Maryland Lyric Opera’s Macbeth: Verdi is Back in the House and for the Season!

Maryland Lyric Opera delivered the first episode of its “Season of Verdi” on Friday night in Bethesda’s Strathmore Center, its first pandemic-free season in two years.  Their performance of Macbeth, partially staged, featured an excellent cast of singer/actors, full orchestra and chorus, delivering a drama closely based on Shakespeare’s tragedy, complete with witches and ghosts, murders, and mayhem, decrying the lust of leaders for position and power.  Most of all, what it offered up was the amazing music and arias that Giuseppe Verdi composed for this classic opera!  And more Verdi is on the way from MDLO.

Verdi and his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, with additional text by Andrea Maffei, closely followed the plotline of Shakespeare’s play (Verdi was so concerned with doing justice to the great Shakespeare that he asked his friend Maffei for substitute text).  Macbeth is a general in Scotland in the twelfth century whose lust for power, emboldened and abetted by his wife Lady Macbeth, murders King Duncan in his sleep to ascend to the throne.  They commit additional murders in their attempt to maintain the throne, and they begin to unravel under the weight of their guilt and the opposition of their countrymen.  All of this is foretold to Macbeth in riddles by a coven of witches employing ghostly apparitions, adding great suspense and an eerie atmosphere to a very dark tale.

Photo 1: Lester Lynch as Macbeth. Photo 2: Jill Gardner as Lady Macbeth. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

Verdi originally wrote Macbeth for performance in Italy in 1847, but he also wrote a version for performance in Paris in 1865, making changes and adding new material, including a ballet.  The expert consensus is that the Paris version is the better work, and that is the most often performed one.  Maryland Lyric Opera performed the 1865 version, without a ballet, but including Macbeth’s final aria from the 1847 version.  Verdi wrote two other operas based on Shakespeare’s plays, Otello and Falstaff; both also remain in the modern repertoire.

One element of productions by Maryland Lyric Opera is that they feel familiar and impart, at least to me, a family atmosphere, in that they frequently include singer/actors that they have employed before, often using former graduates and trainees from their outstanding training program.  Macbeth has four major roles, Macbeth; Lady Macbeth; Banco - Macbeth’s friend who comes to fear him; and Macduff - a nobleman who opposes Macbeth; the opera also has several minor roles.  All the performers for these roles had previously worked with MDLO except for baritone Lester Lynch in the role of Macbeth.

Photo 1: Macbeth (Lester Lynch) is shocked to see that the ghost of Banco (Andrea Silvestrelli) is seated in his chair. Photo 2: Yi Li as MacDuff. Photos by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The renown Mr. Lynch was an inspired choice to play Macbeth.  He has a rich, powerful voice that commands the stage.  His singing and acting displayed well the many elements of Macbeth’s character, from a capable general to a cajoled husband to evil perpetrator to guilt-ridden murderer; he also had a few tender moments when his singing/acting and Verdi’s music actually made me feel a little sorry for him.  Lady Macbeth did not elicit much in the way of sympahty; for her, murder was simply a means to an end; she relished her ascension over those in her way.  MDLO’s Lady Macbeth was soprano Jill Gardner.  I have seen her give several excellent performances in lead roles for MDLO and for Virginia Opera.  As Lady Macbeth she was good, though not as good as I have seen her be previously.  I thought at times her vocal ornamentation lacked full definition.  However, she played the role of the alluring manipulator very well.  She seemed to relish playing this role, and her important sleep walking scene was effective and is critical to the opera.  Bass Andrea Silvestrelli was excellent as always, singing authoritatively and anchoring the drama as someone caught in the middle.  He displayed good acting skills, making an eerie presence when he returned as a ghost after his murder arranged by Macbeth.  Tenor Yi Li’s acting skills in the role of Macduff were not quite as impressive; however, he delivered a solo aria late in the opera that was one of the performance’s highlights.  Tenor Mauricio Miranda as Malcolm, mezzo-soprano Manli Deng as Lady-in-Waiting, and baritone Jose Sacin as Doctor contributed effectively in supporting roles.  The Maryland Lyric Opera Chorus led by Husan Park was excellent as always.  The ensemble numbers backed by the full chorus were outstanding.

The Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra led by Conductor Joseph Colaneri with the women’s chorus portraying Macbeth’s witches in the balcony. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The conductor for this performance was Joseph Colaneri who performs internationally and is well known for serving as the Music Director for the Glimmerglass Festival.  Under his direction, the excellent Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra displayed great finesse in its delivery of Verdi’s music and its coordination with the singers.  I greatly enjoyed the orchestra and thought that it did full justice to Verdi’s magnificent music. 

Ghostly apparitions conjured up by witches further darken the mood and add to the eeriness of Maryland Lyric Opera’s performance of Verdi’s Macbeth. Photo by Julian Thomas Photography; courtesy of Maryland Lyric Opera.

The limited staging for this performance was effective in supporting the drama; kudos to Visual Supervisor David Gately.  Having the angelic sounding women’s chorus placed in the balcony while singing the part of the witches did take me a moment to adjust to the fact that this was a sinister group on this night.  Verdi had his witches bearded, but the balcony was too far away for that to be effective.  On the other hand, having the ghostly apparitions called up by the witches wear white masks enhanced the spookiness and dark nature of the play.  The use of colored lighting to enhance the moods of different scenes was also a nice touch as was the use of flashing lights for lightning effects; kudos to Lighting Designer Stuart Duke.

Overall, this was another fine effort by Maryland Lyric Opera to bring high quality classic opera to the Maryland suburbs.  MDLO seems to have settled in with a program of mostly concert versions of classic operas at Strathmore with the occasional fully staged opera in the Clarice at UMD.  I get the same vibe from MDLO’s weekend performances at the Strathmore now that one might have gotten from the Boston Pops Symphony; it has become a community thing.  It’s what you do on Friday night or Sunday afternoon in Bethesda. 

The Fan Experience:  Macbeth was performed on September 23 and 25 in the Strathmore Music Center.  The concert hall is a beautiful structure that has outstanding acoustics for concert performances.  Strathmore is conveniently located close to the Grosvenor Metro Stop on the Rockville Pike.  Use of the parking deck is free on evenings and weekends.  I have found parking there to be easy in and easy out.

MDLO anticipates announcing the remainder of its “Season of Verdi” in the next couple of weeks; all operas are planned for performances at the Strathmore and will be concert presentations with full orchestra and chorus.  Thanks to Maryland Lyric Opera patrons and contributors, tickets for any seat in the house will remain $10 for students!. 

For the first time, Conductor Louis Salemno was not in the pit for an MDLO performance.  According to MDLO, Maestro Salemno and the company “have decided to go their separate ways”.   I have enjoyed many fine performances with Mr. Salemno at the helm, performances that increased my appreciation of the music in operas, and I wish him the very best in his future endeavors. 

The Importance of Bernstein’s MASS and the Arts and the Kennedy Center

For me, Leonard Bernstein, the arts, the Kennedy Center…well, it’s personal.  David M. Rubenstein, Chairman of the Kennedy Center stated in the program notes that “Tonight’s performance of MASS celebrates not only the Kennedy Center, but the important role the arts and artists play in America, and will continue to play for years to come.”  While commonly referred to as Bernstein’s Mass, the composer formally named it “MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers”.   The three performances this past week were the last event in the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary celebration; the pandemic caused the delay to Center’s 51st year. 

Photo 1: Aerial view of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today. Photo by Richard Barnes; courtesy of the Kennedy Center. Photo 2: Composer Leonard Bernstein at the first performance of his work, MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers, the inaugural performance event of the Kennedy Center on September 8, 1971. Photo by Fletcher Drake; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Why are the arts and artists important?  I devoted my working life to scientific research and administration, medicinal chemistry to be specific, but in my retirement, I am exercising another part of my brain by writing an opera blog.  Why?  If I discover the answer to that question, I will report it.  But it has made me think about the importance of the arts, and here is where I am with that: science allows us to see our physical world and find the relationships between its parts, enabling us greater control in meeting our needs.  The arts I see as addressing the human question of who are we, really.  The arts allow us to see what is important to us as humans, to find our common ground in a way that is experiential but non-confrontational, and through the arts’ ability to find great beauty in form and truth, art becomes a cohesive force for humanity.  My son, the philosopher, says that science teaches us how to control our world while the arts teach us how to control ourselves.  The ancient Greek philosophers pointed out that art, and in particular music, is fundamental to a healthy society.  As Bernstein’s MASS calls for peace and coming together, all art has the effect of calling for peace by leading us to see ourselves in others and connect or re-connect with what is truly important in our lives.  

Will Liverman as the Celebrant, surrounded by dancers in Bernstein’s MASS. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Why are discussions of Leonard Bernstein, a famous composer, conductor, and pianist personal to me?  Growing up, my family and friends were not into classical music; enjoying classical music for me was a lonely pursuit, but I could watch Mr. Bernstein’s television programs where he not only played and conducted classical music, he also explained classical music.  Looking back, while many classical music composers of the 20th century decided to write music for the sake of music, which appealed to a diminishing group, Mr. Bernstein was trying to maintain the connection with a more mainstream American audience.  I even watched one program where he explained the creativity and appeal of the Beatle’s songs and music.  The Kennedy Center and Mr. Bernstein’s stature as a composer were oblivious to this young Georgia boy at that time; all I knew was that I liked classical music, and he was helping me to connect with it.  He is a bit of a hero, and oh yeah, he composed one of my favorite Broadway musicals, West Side Story.

How did Leonard Bernstein become so connected to the Kennedy Center?  His genius, humanitarian efforts, and support of President Kennedy were widely recognized.  In the late sixties, the assassinated president’s widow Jacqueline Kennedy invited him to compose a work for the inauguration of the newly commissioned United States National Cultural Center which was still under construction, which in 1964 had received the name of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a memorial tribute to President Kennedy and his legacy, especially Kennedy’s strong support for the arts as a necessity for the spiritual health of the nation.  Composer Bernstein, who had devoted one of his symphonies to JFK’s memory and later conducted the funeral service for his brother Robert F. Kennedy, accepted the assignment which included a deadline; his new work premiered on the Kennedy Center’s opening night.  On September 8, 1971, this musical genius and extraordinary humanitarian offered up a fully-staged pageant of the arts, a musical wrapped around a mass as a celebration of a president’s legacy and the creation of the new National Cultural Center – the Kennedy Center. 

Photo 1: Will Liverman with Soloists and dancers. Photo 2: Street People Ensemble members, Soloists, and dancers. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Why a mass?  JFK was a Roman Catholic; a new work built around a mass seemed appropriate, especially since he was the first member of the Catholic faith to be elected president.  This was also to be a celebration of the arts and the new center and its mission.  Rather than adhering strictly to the seventeen sections of the Tridentine Catholic Mass, Mr. Bernstein added secular text and music and dance; the musical works its way through the sections of the mass including its liturgy in the libretto.  Maestro Bernstein began work on the assignment in 1969, but when he began to feel deadline pressure in the spring of 1971, he recruited Steven Schwartz, known for the musical Godspell to work on the libretto with him.  They constructed a story centering on the Celebrant, a priest, who undergoes a crisis of faith in response to the existential crises of his flock and their questioning of God coupled with issues tearing apart society in the turbulent 1960s, especially conflicts over the Vietnam War.  In a very real sense, this work remains current and can be viewed as addressing present day issues.

Photo 1: Will Liverman and members of the Children’s Chorus of Washington. Photo 2: The Children’s Chorus of Washington. Photos by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

The Kennedy Center performance of Mass on Saturday night was my first viewing of this work.  It is said that opera should overwhelm the senses.  By that criterion, Mass met the definition of opera; it also met the definition of wow!  There was staging, lighting and color shadings, storytelling, drama, costumes, music, singing, and dancing.  The vocal and musical styles switched often and easily among tonal and atonal classical music, rock, jazz, blues, and Broadway, with live music sometimes augmented by recorded music and singing.  Words were in Latin, Hebrew, and English.  There was gentle, soulful singing and quiet musical meditations between twelve tone clashes of voices and discordant music, music to support the liturgical procession and music to support the existential angst and angry clashes.  There was a lead singer, twelve street singer soloists, a street people ensemble, a children’s choir, an adult choir, dancers, and a full orchestra.  Two hundred and ten performers filled the stage of the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall and the balcony back of the stage and spilled out into the audience.  The mission of the Kennedy Center to support the arts broadly was embodied in Mr. Bernstein’s massive work.  If rap music had been a thing in the sixties, I’m sure Maestro Bernstein would have employed it.  (Hmmm, I wonder if Lin-Manuel Miranda might be interested in doing a version; KC will likely have a 60th year anniversary celebration).

Performances in KC’s production were uniformly excellent; however only one role has the spotlight for very long, the Celebrant around whom the action rotates; the actor/singer must evidence simple faith yielding to doubt, then a breakdown, and rebirth.  The reception of MASS absolutely depends on the singer who plays the Celebrant.  Fortunately, baritone Will Liverman was more than equal to the task; his performance was a tour-de-force.  The beautiful timber and power of his voice shone from the beginning, and he played the role as though it had been written for him.  I expected him to be good; he was great.  The street people soloists all sang well and delivered their songs with conviction.  The singers of the tropes questioning God and their faith were particularly effective.

The National Symphony Orchestra on stage led by Conductor James Gaffigan and in the balcony, the Heritage Signature Chorale led by Artistic Director Stanley J. Thurston. Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

Kudos to Conductor James Gaffigan and the National Symphony Orchestra who managed to make this mélange of styles work with instrument pairings from full orchestra to individual solo accompaniments such as oboe and flute.  The dancers and the choreography were excellently woven into the drama; kudos to choreographer Hope Boykin.  The Heritage Signature Chorale was outstanding.  The Children’s Chorus of Washington led by Artistic Director Margaret Nomura Clark and the child soloists were excellent and added the element of innocence, especially in the closing “Simple Song” as the spent congregation revives, and reclaims their faith.  The ending seemed honest to me – after weathering the storm, though not resolving their issues, the people returned to a simple belief in God.

Director Alison Moritz worked with Conductor Gaffigan to update the work to the present day and chose the inside of a church for the setting.  Their work made this a memorable production.  After its initial performance in 1971, it was both praised and assailed by critics.  It was attacked by Catholic leaders and then later performed at the Vatican.  President Nixon declined to attend due to its presumed anti-war viewpoint.  Yet, the work remains relevant; over forty performances were staged worldwide in 2017-2018 for the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth.  At its premiere, the MASS received a standing ovation.  At Saturday night’s performance, the entire, packed house audience, as far as I could see, rose to its feet in unison to clap and cheer.  I can understand the criticisms of the work and see where they are relevant, or not, but after viewing just one performance I feel grateful for having seen it, both as an engaging work of art and as a piece of history close to my heart.  I think Leonard Bernstein achieved his goal of making the new U.S. National Culture Center stand out, and the Kennedy Center has made good on its mission to provide strong support for a broad spectrum of arts and artists. I am a Kennedy Center member; it’s personal.

The Fan Experience: This production of Bernstein’s MASS ran for three performances in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall on September 15, 17, and 18.  The 2022-2023 season for the National Symphony begins on September 24 and the new season for Washington National Opera begins on October 22.  Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day.  The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free Red Kennedy Center buses from there to the Kennedy Center which run every 15 minutes are an excellent option.  Always check with the venue of the performance you are attending for COVID restrictions; for Saturday’s performance, masking was still required, but not proof of vaccination.

Interested in reading more about the Kennedy Center’s production of MASS? Washington Post critic Michael Andor Brodeur has written excellent preview and review articles, and in a pleasant surprise, KC’s production of MASS led former Post critic, Anne Midgette, to write her first review since leaving the Post to explore what this work has meant to her and how it has changed over time, posted on her website.

Coinciding with the performances of the MASS, the Kennedy Center opened a new permanent exhibition, “Arts and Ideals: President John F. Kennedy” in the JFK Gallery located on the Terrace Level.  It covers President Kennedy from childhood to his death with a focus on his commitment to the arts; it includes a display on Bernstein’s Mass.  We only had a few minutes to wander through but plan to spend more time there on our next trip down to KC.

Matthew Aucoin’s “The Impossible Art”: I’ll Have What He’s Having

Composer Matthew Aucoin; photo downloaded from matthewaucoin.com.

What a fantastical place is Matthew Aucoin’s brain!  Pianist, conductor, composer, and author, he invites us inside his gray matter for a tour in his recent book, “The Impossible Art”.  Mr. Aucoin, now 32, is a recipient of the MacArthur Award, commonly referred to as the genius award, and he is already viewed as one of America’s top composers – his composition Eurydice was performed in 2021 by Met Opera.  The book is written in first person, a highly opinionated first person, and thereby, it reveals much about the author, as well as his subject matter, which is opera.  “The Impossible Art” is worthy of consideration during your holiday shopping for anyone who loves opera or is interested in just finding out what it is all about.

I highly recommend this book mainly due to its most engaging characteristic.  As Doctor Frankenstein yelled about his monster when lightning struck: “It’s alive!”  Books on opera tend to be primarily studied and pedagogical.  This one brings opera to life.  Suppose Mozart had written a book discussing the composer’s task in his operas and those of his contemporaries, with its many attendant challenges and problems in combining singing, dancing, acting, music, costumes, and stage sets to tell a story made of dreams.  I think Mozart’s would be much like this one, communicating his enthusiasm as well as his knowledge, bringing the picture he paints to life, broadening the reader’s perception and understanding of this massive art form that at its best, never perfect, can transcend its elements to speak directly to the soul of its audience.  Thus, composer Aucoin calls opera impossible. 

Cover photo of “The Impossible Art” by Matthew Aucoin; photo by blog author.

This 299-page volume published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux is subtitled Adventures in Opera and contains eight chapters, plus a list of works cited and a list of recommended recordings for the works he discusses.  The author says in Chapter 1: “A Field Guide to the Impossible” that the remaining chapters are essays that can be read out of order, though I thought his order felt about right.  He discusses operas by Monteverdi, Charpentier, Birtwistle, Stravinsky, Verdi, Adès, Czernowin, and Mozart that have affected him deeply, as well as his own works, Crossings and Eurydice.  The works by the various composers are very different animals.   One of the charms of his book is that Mr. Aucoin seems open to anything except bad art.  He views opera as a generic term for a type of music much like ‘fiction’ is for books; his opera tent is very wide.  He embraces avant-garde operas and classical works with equal enthusiasm, and he views the current opera scene in the U.S. as a thriving wild, wild west. 

Another endearing feature of Mr. Aucoin’s book is that he advocates for loving opera from afar, that is, listening to recordings.  That is how he developed his love for opera.  As an author who advocates for listening to opera live, it helped restore a perspective for me that I needed to be reminded of.  He also understands that opera speaks to you or it doesn’t; he mentions that his own sister does not care for opera.  He also realizes our reception to opera can change.  He states that initially, “Operatic singing struck me as jarring and unpleasant”.  He gives as clear a description of the difference between opera and musical theater as I have read, and then proposes three laws of gravity for opera.  He asserts that the libretto and the music for an opera, along with its other elements should not blend but should bump into each other, each transforming the others.  If the book has a weakness, it is in being too often rational and reasonable, which as he states is the opposite of opera. Perhaps he should undertake the challenge to write an opera that would explain opera, but then, perhaps each opera is its own explanation, only using a language we can grasp but not fully articulate. 

Mr. Aucoin’s prose is lucid and clever.  He refers to opera as often being viewed in the US as “a kind of imported cheese, an especially pungent and funky one”.  He refers to the relationship between words and music in opera as “not just one of respectful deference: it is also a battle of wills”, with an illuminating discussion of the working relationship between composer Igor Stravinsky and poet W. H. Auden.  The main thrust of his book is a dissection of the operas he discusses, sometimes line by line, discussing changes in key and revealing the impact that the composer was trying to create in conveying the story being told.  It is here the reader must ride along with him, even if you do not have a background in music; what you get will still illuminate the composer’s task.

I found myself wanting to attend again, or for the first time, the operas that he discusses whether by his comments on Verdi’s Shakespeare operas or Mozart’s Figaro or Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber, to hear them through his ears, or at least after being enlightened by the insights he shares.  In discussing Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers, his assertion that the opera makes “his depiction of suffering openly pleasurable, and exquisitely so” certainly makes me want to see this version of the Orpheus myth.  He sees making suffering pleasurable but not in an exploitative fashion as a bridled task composers must deal with. In discussing his own full operas, he bravely shares his misgivings about his work on Crossings, a work about Walt Whitman, and he discusses his working relationship with librettist Sara Ruhl for Eurydice.  I sometimes wondered in reading his opinions whether a particular one was expert opinion or a flight of the composer’s romantic imagination, or some mix.  Nor do I have the positive responses to all of the works that the author does, but still, he makes me want to give each another viewing.

Mr. Aucoin, a very busy performer, conductor, and composer, found the time to write the book due to the pandemic shutdown of 2020.  Making opera come alive in print is a gift.  I hope he will somehow find the time to write more commentary on additional operas.  Once I started reading the book, it quickly became a page turner.  For my final verdict on Aucoin’s book, I will borrow a line from Harry Met Sally.  When it comes to opera, I’ll have what he’s having