TRYING TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF A FLAWED HERO
Major Production Marks Theofanidis World Premiere
Opera
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By Paul Hertelendy
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music
and dance
Week of Sept. 12-19, 2011
Vol. 14, No. 5
A powerful
dramatic saga of 9/11 telling the story of one of its great heroes has
been
converted to opera. When given its world premiere here on the eve of
the
tragedy’s 10th anniversary, “Heart of a Soldier” was
accorded a
five-minute ovation at the War Memorial Opera House by an audience that
was
respectful, even moved.
The full
house was caught up in the real-life drama of the security guard Rick
Rescorla who saved countless lives
evacuating the Twin
Towers-----and gave up his own in the
process.
Composer
Christopher Theofanidis, 43, created a
biographical work cut up into eight parts. Truly poetic outpourings
evolved in
certain key scenes, where the principals revert to traditional arias
and duets.
These included arias by Rick and his late-in-life bride Susan, as well
as the
soulful expressiveness of Rick’s best friend and Army buddy Dan.
While none of
his music leaves a powerful imprint on first
hearing, he creates well-crafted arias (for Rick, most notably) and
choruses,
and along the way brings an eclectic mix of tangos, polkas, and popular
styles.
Librettist
Donna di Novelli created an admirable libretto that flowed and lent
itself well
to song. The opera’s fundamental flaw however, which greatly weakened
the work,
was the diffuse tapestry, attempting to tell too many facets of Rick’s
history
ranging from childhood through military days in various far-flung
venues.
However effective in film, Vietnam
battle scenes, laced with profanity, simply don’t work in opera.
What
is
appealing is the flawed hero that is Rick---human, vulnerable, likable.
But
three
of the scenes work to perfection. The act-one finale of Rick’s first
wedding
features a trifecta: the wedding itself, the none-too reverent assembly
of Rick
and his military cohorts, and the powerful symbolism of a minaret with
an imam
intoning (improvised) prayers---the significant entry of a Muslim world
into
Rick’s circle via Dan.
Rick’s
later sidewalk encounter with his wife-to-be Susan, and their
courtship, are
the essential human glue propelling the work with charm and obvious
affection.
Finally, the closing scene of Rick as security guard saving hundreds of
employees from the doomed building catches the curious suited life of
the
high-rise offices with four stories of hubbub, countless
supernumeraries, and
the strong opera chorus.
The
epilogue finds a muted Susan and Dan in the detritus of the twin ruins
as papers
fly, and somewhere a Scottish bagpipe is playing. Such scenes define
the best
of this composer from Texas,
now on the Yale faculty.
Director
Francesca Zambello’s meticulously blocked and choreographed production repeatedly lifts the opera off the ground,
quite literally when a descending parachutist is singing on high
(reminiscent
of the earlier Valkyrie descents in the “Ring”), with credit to Set
Designer Peter
J. Davison.
Starring
in
the title role of Rick is baritone Thomas Hampson, who can play a part
just as
skilfully as he can sing it. The robust tenor William Burden played Dan
with
swagger and cohesion, while soprano Melody Moore was a refreshing and
engaging
Susan. In the large supporting cast, Michael Sumuel’s Tom the medic and
the
imam of Mohannad Mchallah were effective. And Patrick Summers
spiritedly led a
pit orchestra with varied special effects.
(Pick
your
vantage point carefully for this opera; sitting under the overhang at
rear
orchestra, I found much of the singing near inaudible because of the
variable hall
acoustics. The balcony's back row is much better.)
In sum, this
is a large and costly
mounting of which the S.F. Opera can be proud, but its future prospects
are
clouded by its heterogeneous mass of many soldiers, many words of text,
and too
many crammed-in biographical details to let the heart and soulfulness
of the
principals emerge in all their dimensions.
Theofanidis’
opera “Heart of a Soldier” (world premiere Sept. 10) at S.F. Opera,
through
Sept. 30 in mixed repertory. In English, with supertitle translations.
For
info: (415) 864-3330, or go online.
©Paul Hertelendy 2011
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Paul Hertelendy has been
covering
the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with
relish
-- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)
will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local
artists as well.
#
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