William Beeman (Norton)

Lenore Turner-Heinson (Empress Norton)

Emperor Norton of the USA and Protector of Mexico is what Joshua Abraham Norton called himself in his 20-year reign as self-declared monarch. In the two-act opera by Davis composer Jerome Rosen and Berkeley librettist James Schevill, San Francisco's indomitable, almost legendary figure of the post-Gold Rush era is given due homage. Norton embodies the spirit of the liberal, tolerant, visionary, charismatic and eccentric city itself.

Doing battle with the same evils of greed, bigotry and corruption that still plague us, Norton refuses to give up, even at his own funeral. He is a little like Don Quixote in his combative quest for justice, like Falstaff in his tippling raffishness, and like Hans Sachs in his love of the town and its people.

The opera, Emperor Norton of the USA, which received its premiere June 3 and was seen last Sunday at UC Davis' Main Theater, was an engaging interpretation of the colorful history. It has a spirited cast of 15 singers, mixed chorus and small orchestra (mostly from UC Davis), ably conducted by D. Kern Holoman and effectively directed by Harry Johnson. The show will be repeated on June 9 and 11 at 8:00 p.m.

William Beeman is a rubicund Norton, a baritone, full-voiced though a little uneven in his singing, and Lenore Turner-Heinson, as his female alter ego, sings in an appealing but contained soprano voice. Stephen Janzen as the political boss Steckle, the chief villain, sang in a strong, solid baritone and acted well. Steckle is abetted by the rabble-rousing xenophobe of actual San Francisco history, Denis Kearny, played by Gary Cannon, and by the all-too pliant Mayor Kroller, sung in a light, pleasant tenor by Seth Arnopole. They and the others (many of them fictious characters), successfully carry the action to its conclusion that resurrects Norton and relegates Steckle and his crew to "the fog of history."

The funeral in 1880 of the real-life Norton drew 10,000 loyal followers, and this is where the opera begins. From atop his coffin, Norton's ghost gazes on what follows, sometimes silent and bemused and sometimes, during flashbacks, vociferously joining in the action. At one point he passes the banner of his cause (in the form of a Chinese umbrella) to a disciple and former comrade-in-arms, Edwina Bennett, who has rechristened herself Empress Norton. She leads his crusade into the future.

Schevill's libretto contains some good scenes and lively dialog, but the role of Norton and especially that of the Empress could have been strengthened by a deeper sense of their personal attachment to each other. A tender spiritual or erotic relationship between them would have provided a useful counterbalance to the somewhat repetitive political satire that dominates the text. We need to see some emotional source behind their activism. Otherwise, they seem to be just zealous do-gooders. A dimension is missing.

Rosen's music is full of energy and rhythmic vitality. Each gesture in the orchestra is purposeful and well-shaped. Brass and woodwinds are especially effective in evoking the raucous atmosphere of confrontation and crossed purposes which occupies much of the action. The opera is at its best in ensemble scenes like the opening funeral, or the second act banquet, which turns into a riot. Also striking are the spooky scene in which Steckle and Kearny beckon Norton to join them in the "fog of history" as mist rises from the stage, and finally the closing scene in praise of Norton's enduring legacy.

In many places the orchestral music is too often accompanimental, not creating a strong mood that could give depth and emotive variety to the texture while underpinning the vocal line. The prison scene needs a musical background to bring out the bleakness of the Empress' life behind bars, Several times, when a real musical "number" seems to be building, the excitement mounts. The interaction between singer and orchestra starts intensifying, the forward motion building, but then the accompanied declamation takes over and the mood dissipates.

This happens in the Mayor's final song, "Politics is a rich man's game," and also when Darrin, the railroad magnate, sings "When my engine moves, it will shake the earth." If the banquet/riot scene were lengthened and infused with more prolonged and dynamic orchestral writing, it would make a more powerful effect. A solid reworking of this opera by composer and librettist could make an already enjoyable show into a truly memorable one.

(Jules Langert is a composer and teacher who resides in the East Bay.)

©1999 Jules Langert, all rights reserved