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OPERA REVIEW
A Lorca Puppet Opera
May 11, 2002
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By Jerry Kuderna
Although he is chiefly remembered as poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca established a People's Theater in the 30's, whose aim it was to revive the true voice of the Spanish people. Lorca has become a legendary figure. He was a revolutionary who didn't care about politics and a passionate lover of life who felt poetry must embrace death. His work reflects the struggle between the world of dreams, waiting remembrances, and hope, versus the world of now, life, love and birth. Any production of Lorca must have the right combination of visual and sonic imagery to conjure up the duende, the irrational, demonic, death-seeking spirit that he felt had to be brought to life in any authentic play or poetic creation.
The Oakland Opera Theater and composers Tom Dean and David Barrows have taken him at his word and turned his 4 hour, “unperformable” play, Asi Que Pasen Cinco Años (Once Five Years Have Passed), into, if not opera, a kind of musical theater that might have pleased that most passionate of poets.
Their music evokes the mystical flavor of Lorca's world with rhythms that pulsate in the works of Falla, melodies from the popular zarzuelas, along with a measure of jazz thrown into to give a contemporary feel. This eclectic approach seems apt since Lorca considered himself a musician above all, and was most comfortable when he visited New York listening to blues in Harlem night clubs. Coupled with Lorca's wonderful musical language in their musical settings, the "recitatives" in English provided about the same orientation that they do in traditional operas. The musical idiom changes as the characters shift between their roles. We, the audience, move from prosaic English to poetic Spanish, the musical evocation of dream and desire.
Once Five Years Have Passed presents a sequence of episodes dealing with the dominant themes in Lorca's life. Taking place during the five years in which he decides to wait before his marriage to a romanticized fiancée, the play presents the conflict between contemplation of the past versus action toward a future, reality versus dreams. The poetry is about time and longing, and given Lorca's homosexual orientation, it is probable that he was prepared to wait more than five years to marry. In this multimedia presentation with computer projected graphics done by Jared Preston O'Hirsch, the puppets and subtle lighting create images that evoke thought. A scrim was used throughout to display the super-titles above the superimposed graphics and video, creating a dreamlike world through which we view what is taking place on the stage. Before the performance began, the director offered to help us during the intermission if we had any problem with the plot — a plot not more nor less clear than our dreams. I decided to approach it like I would a Buñuel film: to let the imagery in and not interpret too much. At one point I could have sworn that there were dragonflies dancing just behind the scrim (had the duende really made an appearance?) No, I was told later that various insects had been included as surrealistic symbols, as in the Buñuel films representing decay and death. Once the computer graphics kicked in, following the story became superfluous anyway, and one just tried to follow the supertitles and see what was going on behind the scrim. This was challenging, but fun.
Mark D. Lew played the lead and might be thought of as Lorca's alter ego. With his comfortable command of the operatic idiom he made Lorca's hyper-romanticism both believable and absurd. He went from beatific smiles to darkest despair in a flash. Lew seemed completely comfortable in the role of Joven and his uncanny resemblance to the poet didn't hurt his charactization. Several roles were "doubled" by the same performer. The dead cat was sung offstage by Denise Fraga in the first act with the enormously talented 14 year old Kent Overshown. In this scene two puppets appear to be singing with Overshown managing his "dead boy" puppet. It's difficult to describe the eerie effectiveness of this scene, where your attention is absorbed by the eyes of the puppets that seem to come to life in a way that their living counterparts cannot match, the songs seeming to emerge from them. Later Fraga sings onstage in a full white bridal gown — but as a mannequin behind a video projection of a mask-like face which has been animated and surrounded by lace. Only the Mannequin can reach Mark Lew, roused from his dreaming by the song of the bride unbedded, the garment of her child unborn. In response to the emotional agony in her voice and words he goes to look for his naked bride as the images on the scrim scream and decompose.
In the first act John Minagro as Viejo, the old man, conveyed the rich depth of characterization and the ringing bass that reflects his experience nationally with a wide variety of roles. He argues for caution, for waiting and remembering. Jovan's open freshness is contrasted with Amigo 1, played by Nicholas Aliaga who forcefully conveys action and non-reflection with bravura voice and gesture, and Overshown who returns as Amigo 2, a figure of youth and innocence. The Novia, Joven's fiancée, a red pajamed passionate lover of life is vitally sung by Angel Dean-Baham. Arlequin, performed by Cynthia Tayor, all body and movement and vibrant voice, sings of dream and luck, the moving images of jungle, sea and ice. Her fecund richness contrasts with Muchacha (sung by Natasha Hoehn), returned as a young girl ready to join her lover beneath the sea. The Clown (sung John Minagro) and Arlequin trick her into life, then bring the lost and struggling Joven to a triumphant Mechanografa. As Mecanografa, the typist, Natasha Hoehn, loves in a pure intensity waiting to be seen, to be wanted. Yet, when Joven returns to her, resplendent, she sang in distant tones, pure and wedded to waiting, caught in inaction, in a dream. Perhaps in revenge he is to wait — another 5 years. (Jerry Kuderna is a pianist who teaches at Diablo Valley College and is a host of the Berkeley TV program, Stop, Look, and Listen.) ©2002 Jerry Kuderna, all rights reserved |