A week ago Saturday, I had the opportunity to experience ‘polar opposites’ in the world of opera …. two productions that could not have been more drastically different from each other. And spoiler alert: I loved them both …. which only underscores one reason why I love opera so much: because it is an art form of endless possibilities.
Opera is often described as the most extravagant art form of them all. This is because it typically involves a monumental array of elements …. talented and accomplished solo singers, comparably talented and accomplished chorus and orchestra members, a ballet troupe, elaborate sets and costumes, plus a designer (or designers), a director, a conductor, their assistants, and a large and capable crew to help make it all happen. When done at the highest level of excellence, Opera involves an immense amount of both financial capital and human capital – and when you total all of that up, it’s a wonder that anybody still wants to do it. But fortunately, there are still people in the world who are determined enough (and crazy enough) to want to do opera in truly spectacular fashion.
And when it comes to spectacular opera, nobody does it like the Metropolitan Opera, the largest and most splendidly equipped opera house in the world. And in their production of Phillip Glass’s Akhnaten, the company had the chance to put its very best foot forward, in a dazzling feast for eye and ear. The opera is set in ancient Egypt and tells the intriguing, true story of a pharaoh who reshaped Egypt in some amazing ways, but whose legacy was almost entirely erased by those who succeeded him after toppling him from power. The Met’s production involved not only massive sets and opulent costumes, but also the unconventional presence of jugglers whose juggling was done in carefully choreographed counterpoint to Glass’s music. (Believe it or not, there is extensive evidence from paintings of the period that juggling was done in Ancient Egypt.) And we should not forget the splendid Met chorus and orchestra as well as a cast of soloists led by the finest countertenor in the world, Anthony Roth Costanza, in the title role.
No, I was not in New York City to see this splendid production . . . but I did get to see both the beginning and the ending of Saturday’s performance in the HD simulcast, in which about a dozen cameras captured and conveyed the production from every conceivable angle and beamed it to movie theaters across the country and around the world. I was bedazzled by what I saw and heard, and it made me incredibly eager to see the entire performance someday. (Evidently, I’m not the only person who is intrigued by Akhnaten. The last four performances of it at the Met are completely sold out.)
It was rather amazing to have the opulent Met production juxtaposed in the same afternoon with Carthage’s humble Opera Workshop performance, which featured two singers, one pianist (me), costumes from the singers’s own closets, two simple props, and no set whatsoever. It was about as NON-extravagant as opera could possibly be- and yet at the end, our audience was on its feet cheering! It was largely due to the really lovely and compelling performances of London Roysden and Cory Pollard- and also to the fact that we did our performance as theater-in-the-round, which created an intimate setting in which the audience felt like they were almost a part of what was unfolding before them. And that same close proximity was surely an inspiration to London and Cory, who sang very expressively in four arias by Handel that gave the audience a generous helping of the distinctive beauty of opera seria.
From there, Cory and London performed two scenes from Donizetti’s delightful comedy The Elixir of Love. Cory portrayed Nemorino, a sweet, naive country bumpkin who is hopelessly in love with the wealthy Adina – and who is tricked into purchasing a fake love potion that he hopes will cause her to fall in love with him. I would call this a classic example of a human comedy featuring two richly drawn characters with whom we can definitely identify – and I was so proud of the way that London and Cory brought them so vividly and authentically to life, with performances that both touched the heart and tickled the funny bone while also demonstrating the lovely vocalism that Bel Canto is all about.
I’m really glad that I got to experience both the Met’s Akhnatan and the Carthage Opera Workshop performance in the same afternoon, because it really underscored for me how the heart of opera does not lie in its extravagance but rather in the intersection of story and music – whether that plays out in the splendor of a Met production or in the kind of bare bones production that my former colleague Matt Boresi affectionately called “Opera On the Cheap.” And when you have great music wed to a compelling story as well as gifted singers fully committed to the task at hand, it almost doesn’t matter how fancy the frame is within which they are delivering their performance. Actually, that’s probably going a little too far- because it makes it sound like things like sets and costumes and lighting don’t matter. In fact, they matter tremendously – and I suspect that I would not have found the Met’s Akhnaten nearly so engrossing without the eye-popping spectacle within which it was presented. Likewise, it would have been terrific if London and Cory could have delivered their wonderful performances on a proper stage and in a fully-staged production. On the other hand, I think Cory and London benefited by having to deliver the goods very much on the strength of their own performances and it’s probably one reason why they grew so tremendously over the course of the semester. And they can also rest assured that the standing ovation they received at the end had not been inspired by dazzling sets or costumes or stage wizardry – but from the performances that they delivered so convincingly.
One last point: There are certainly times when I wish that Carthage was in a position to present opera on a grander scale – on a real stage, with orchestral accompaniment and chorus, with beautiful costumes and detailed sets, etc. … not just because it would be fun to do so, but also because it would be good preparation for our students who aspire to sing opera after college. On the other hand, the sector of the opera world that is flourishing right now is not the huge houses with huge budgets- but rather the tiny opera companies with names like Pocket Opera, Rogue Opera, Guerilla Opera, Small Opera, Opera a la carte, and the like. In fact, a beloved former colleague of mine at Carthage, Nancy Henninger, headed up a small company in Illinois called Intimate Opera that presented operas in very small spaces that one would normally never associate with opera at all. Pop-Up Opera …. Storefront Opera …. Warehouse Opera … Backroom Opera ….. whatever term you prefer. This is where some of the most important and inspiring work in opera is being done these days. Our Opera Workshop performance this semester was, in some ways, a part of this universe of opera shorn from its fancy trappings- and my hope is that what Cory and London experienced in the preparation of this production will serve them well in whatever opera they go on to perform after Carthage.
And the thought of that excites me even more than Saturday’s standing ovation.