| . | 05/01/2008
OUR TOWN and STREET SCENE
By: Joel Benjamin
 Two operas with American themes were recently presented on the stages of New York City's most prestigious music schools. The Juilliard School presented the New York premiere of Ned Rorem's "Our Town: An Opera in Three Acts," based on the classic play by Thornton Wilder. The Manhattan School of Music presented Kurt Weill's "Street Scene," based on Elmer Rice's Twenties melodrama. Both productions were superb and both were totally professional, despite the "conservatory" surroundings.
It might have been an artistically dangerous proposition to take Thornton Wilder's beloved classic "Our Town," which is complete in itself, and tamper with it by adding music. Of course, adding music usually means reducing the libretto to accommodate the extra weight of the score and this production of "Our Town" is no exception. J.D. McClatchy did the adaptation of the text eliminating some characters, most notably the younger siblings of the two main characters and reshaping the book by bringing in elements of the final funeral scene at the very beginning, giving it more cyclical feel. Ned Rorem's music more than made up for any literary loss, giving color and greater depth to characters that Wilder created. His music had elements of Copland and Bernstein, but mostly the feel of Samuel Barber of the "Knoxville Summer of 1915" period; in other words, moody, slightly acerbic, but still luscious and beautifully orchestrated.
The set by John Kasarda was simple, but not particularly beautiful. A large brick wall dominated the back of the set, leaning over a white picket fence. Period looking chairs and tables created the necessary areas: the church, the Webb house, the Gibbs house, the drugstore, etc. Meredith Palin's costumes effectively took the characters through the ten or so years of the story and Lloyd Sobel's lighting added depth and dimension to all the stage pictures.
The cast of Juilliard Opera Center students gave moving performances, particularly Alex Mansoori as the Stage Manager, Jennifer Zetlan as Emily (who created the part in the world premiere) and Alek Shrader as George, Emily's romantic partner. Ms. Zetlan stood out for her ability to age convincingly, going from an awkward teen to a very beautiful woman, making her death in childbirth all the more moving. How the director Edward Berkeley got these students to portray middle-aged characters with depth and precision, is a mystery, but it shows his mastery. Anne Manson's conducting was fluid, bringing out all the subtleties of Mr. Rorem score and never overwhelming the singers.
 But it was Ned Rorem's evening all the way. This eighty-year old composer managed to produce a score that actually added to the well-known text. A rich, accessible score with enough stridency to give the sometimes maudlin, sometimes cliched words of Wilder a new life. Only time will tell if Ned Rorem's "Our Town" will be considered a masterpiece, but it certainly should be a staple in the repertory of operas around the world.
Kurt Weill's "Street Scene" has already achieved masterpiece stature, moving from the musical theater stage to the opera stage fairly early on after it's 1947 premiere. The Manhattan School of Music's production only added to its reputation with a full-fledged, and fully-cast production. There was no stinting here, from the deliciously full tenement set designed by Steven Capone to the clothing (not costumes) designed by Helen Rodgers. The lighting by Jeff Davis created moods that even the terrific Weill score couldn't. Francis Patrelle's bits of choreography looked real, as if these characters would actually do these steps on the streets of the Lower East Side.
"Street Scene" can come across as old-fashioned and heavy-handed because its book, based on the Elmer Rice hit of the 1920's deals in types, rather than three-dimensional characters. It takes good acting and good singing to make the audience want to sit through three-acts of depressing situations. Jay Lesenger, aided by dialect coach Robert Blumenfeld, directed this huge cast well. There were some minor problems getting these young performers to effectively portray older characters, but, for the most part the cast gave nuanced and well-sung portrayals.
Standouts were James Rodgers as the young Sam Kaplan who sings "Lonely House," the lament of a young man seeking something he can't quite get and his romantic counterpart, Devon Guthrie as Rose Maurrant, an innocent whose naivete is soon destroyed by tragically inevitable circumstances. The entire cast, even the youngsters, gave the score its due.
The music by Kurt Weill ranged from blues to pastiche of Italian opera and the lyrics by Langston Hughes elevated the emotions of Rice's book to great heights, sometimes too literate for the characters singing them, but beautiful, nonetheless.
The Manhattan School of Music's production of "Street Scene" gave vibrant life to a work that should be produced more. The large cast and the intricate setting make that difficult, but this American classic has life, warmth and meaning and creates a picture of a long-lost neighborhood.
THE JUILLIARD OPERA CENTER &
JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA of
THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023
212-799-5000
Presents
Ned Rorem's "Our Town"
April 23 - 27, 2008
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater
and,
THE MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
OPERA THEATER
120 Claremont Ave
New York, NY 10027
212-749-2802
Presents
Kurt Weill's "Street Scene"
April 30 - May 4, 2009
John C. Borden Auditorium
|
|