A PIG IS A PIG IS A PANDEMONIUM
By Paul Hertelendy
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music
Week of Aug. 5-13, 2002
Vol. 5, No. 4
ASPEN, CO---The sheer exuberance of the new music-theater comedy "Gloria:
A Pigtale" spills over the stage and converts you and your kids, even if
an hour later you may be hungry again.
What will "Gloria" be? Will the real Gloria please waddle up front and
center? The Austrian composer, H.K. Gruber, 59, didn't do anything solemn
like "Silent Night," even if the latter's composer was Franz Gruber,
a countryman (but not a relative) almost two centuries ago.
The rambunctious overture suggests early Kurt Weill jazz, reinforced by
biting brass and social satire a la "Three-Penny Opera." Right? Wrong again.
Hitler salutes, suggest a fable about barnyard animals a la "Animal Farm."
Right? Wrong again.
Guess Miss Piggy, and you're a bit more on track. The heroine Gloria is
a beautiful vain sow in the farm menagerie trying to escape the porky
seducers and the slaughterhouse crew, while a hyperactive trio with countless
animal disguises reflects on the Perils of Gloria with humor and wit.
"Gloria" was created in German in 1992-94 and later translated into English
using rhymic couplets (and outrageous puns) to produce a brief but exuberant
evening---even for those who have never yelled "Sooo-eeeeee!" or shoveled
That Stuff.
The style of singing, Gruber says, has its roots in Pergolesi and "Pulcinella."
But to his credit, he subtly sneaks in a 12-tone row without any
one being offended by the dissonance.
"Gloria" got its U.S. premiere July 27 and 29 at the 113-year-old Wheeler
Opera House, whose 500 or so seats were just right for viewing this farcical
fairy tale with a cast of five and a small Broadway pit orchestra.
Gruber, best known for his "Frankenstein!!" didn't quite make a silk purse
out of a sow's ear, but his cast here at the Aspen Music Festival, capped
by the enchanting young coloratura Haewon Moon in the title role, brought
riffs and drolleries to entertain through the 105-minute length. It was
almost enough to overlook the crude conducting.
Well, any time you got too critical, you could always step out, then return
for a little Weill...
NOTES---According to the festival's media director Betsy Furth, who declined
to give statistics, 2002 has contributions "going very well," with attendance
"down a little," particularly prior to July 4th.
Published Aspen statistics indicate tourist income overall down about 15%,
thanks to 9/11, the economic slump, and the Colorado wildfires of a month
ago.
The festival meanwhile continues unabated through Aug. 18, usually with
several events each day. The fare is mostly classical. But there are crossover
events like the July 30 duo of bassist Edgar Meyer with banjo whiz Bela
Fleck. Fleck has developed a formidable (perhaps unprecedented) agility
on the banjo, playing with the blinding speed of a guitar virtuoso on a
folk instrument familiar for its chordal song accompaniments. With Meyer,
who can make the bass sing like a cello, he showed that the most mismatched
instruments can produce a close collaboration (anbd sell a raft of recordings,
too).
They played in the permanent festival tent, built in 2000 as an improvement
on the old one, allowing sound access to lawn picnickers at the bucolic
riverside. Next door, other programs use the Harris Chamber Music Hall,
a creation of the 1990s that further enhanced this high-level combination
festival and school founded in 1949.
Aspen (CO) Music Festival, through Aug. 18.
For tickets and info: (970) 925-9042, or on
line.
©Paul Hertelendy 2002
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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 recordings by local artists, books (by authors of the region) and
theater as well.
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