AN AMERICAN SODIER--AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY

 Nina Yoshida Nelson and Brian Vu

(Photo by Marc J. Franklin)

It was the first time we ventured anywhere near the former site of the World Trade Center. It was our first time visiting the Perelman Performing Art Center. We were glad for the occasion to replace our sad memories with a satisfying experience. The neighborhood has been transformed by new energy, new residents, and new businesses-- the result of a daring conception and successful execution of a plan to revitalize the area.

The first thing we noticed at PAC NY was that the gorgeous new theater was completely packed. How impressive it was to see such a turnout for a contemporary opera! The standing ovation at the conclusion testifies to the success of the project.

What a brilliant choice it was to present An American Soldier, the true story of Private Daniel Chen, whose suicide whilst serving the country he so believed in left an ugly stain on the U.S. Military. The fact that the Sergeant who bullied him so relentlessly was virtually exonerated provokes fury; Danny's tragic death provokes deep sorrow.

The superb direction of Chay Yew told the tale effectively with scenes taking place with Danny's "ghost" witnessing. The acting of the principals (tenor Brian Vu as Danny Chen, mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen as Mother Chen, soprano Hannah Cho as Danny's girlfriend Josephine Young, and baritone Alex DeSocio as Sgt. Aaron Marcum) was so intense that it confirmed our impression that this was a play with music, as much as an opera; we will have more to say about that later.

We have followed Mr. Vu's artistic ascent for at least ten years since he was a baritone. We heard him as he won many competitions, singing Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Rossini, Sondheim, Mozart, and Rossini with equal artistry. It brought us joy to witness the fulfillment of his early promise in a performance that touched us deeply. He was totally believable as a second generation Chinese-American who defied the wishes of his mother by enlisting in the US Army, as so many innocent young men are wont to do, without considering the consequences. That he wanted to prove himself as a real American just added to the tragedy.

Ms. Nelsen was similarly affecting as his mother, attempting to deal with her sorrow by seeking justice, which ended up being unattainable. Ms. Cho, well remembered from her appearances with Classic Lyric Arts and as the eponymous bird in On Site Opera's Sound of the Nightingale, was persuasive as Danny's girlfriend and injected a note of humor as she delicately and tactfully translated Danny's letters to his mother who did not read English. Unfortunately, the audience did not get to hear her astonishing coloratura.

But, oh, the villain of the piece! Mr. DeSocio was so convincing as the bigoted, hateful, brutal Sgt. Marcum that we almost forgot that we were in a theater. 

Several other fine young artists portrayed various roles, among them the stunning soprano Shelén Hughes, mezzo-soprano Cierra Byrd, Ben Brady, Joshua Sanders, Christian Simmons, and James C. Harris--all of whom we have heard in the past few years around NYC and at Santa Fe Opera. It was indeed a well-chosen cast.

That the vocal lines did not offer an opportunity to hear the remarkable vocal gifts of these young artists is our very own particular disappointment, as it was of the tenor who accompanied us. We know that esteemed composer Huang Ruo can write for the voice as we recall from his Paradise Interrupted from 2016. That he can write interesting music for the orchestra we also recall from the 2014 Santa Fe Opera production of Doctor Sun Yat Sen.

We have enjoyed the dramas of David Henry Huang going back for years to his play The Dance and the Railroad. The libretto he wrote for An American Soldier was fine and terse, avoiding the pitfalls of prosy libretti. So how come we have not enjoyed his partnership with Mr. Ruo? This, we cannot figure out. (We also found fault with their partnership for the 2022 production of M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera.) We stayed on after the performance to hear a panel discussion in which Mr. Ruo and Mr. Huang seemed highly satisfied with their partnership; we listened carefully to their descriptions of their work together; we still left without a clue.

Of course, a story like this one could be seen to demand a great deal of orchestral dissonance; but Verdi and Puccini told tragic and angry stories with passionate music whereas Mr. Ruo's music struck us as closer to a film score, inasmuch as it may have served to unconsciously heighten the emotions. There were two opportunities for a musically kinder or more tender touch. One was the love duet between Danny and Josephine, and the other between Danny's "ghost" and his mother at the conclusion of the opera.

We have more to say about the music. Perhaps the PAC NYC theater has no orchestra pit because the musicians were behind the scrim which served as a screen for some excellent projections designed by Nicholas Hussong. David Bullard's sound design left much to be desired. The American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Carolyn Kuan sounded like recorded music. If others in the audience found fault with the amplification we do not know.

Daniel Ostling's suitable set design was bare with an occasional table and chairs or a short metal stepladder to suggest a room or a rooftop. The aforementioned projections were excellent and showed the New York skyline and the mountain range of Afghanistan. Linda Cho's costumes were apropos.

The bottom line was that we enjoyed the storytelling and the performances but continue to be disappointed with contemporary opera which seems to ignore the fact that opera is a singer's medium. 

© meche kroop

BUTTERFLY DREAM

Kangmin Justin Kim and Mark Stone

(photo by Curtis Brown)

With our eyes closed, we might have thought the scintillating voice was that of a soprano; but no, it was the scintillating voice of counter-tenor Kangmin Justin Kim whose expressive instrument and superb control of the upper register was absolutely perfect for the role of Chinese opera star Song Liling. The opera M. Butterfly, commisioned by the Santa Fe Opera, is about deception, among other things. We humans are inclined to deceive ourselves based upon our wishes, our experience, and our preconceived notions. M. Butterfly tells the story of a minor French diplomat who falls in love with a male Chinese opera star who portrays female roles. Until confronted with the "naked evidence" the diplomat never accepts the fact that he has fallen in love with a man--not even after a years-long relationship.

The story originated as a play by David Henry Hwang whose tales of China have entertained us going back to his play The Dance and the Railroad. The play M. Butterfly upon which the opera is based, was a huge success at its Broadway premiere and once again at its revival and then again as a film. We have enjoyed every iteration and was looking forward to the opera ever since it was announced.

So, we are wondering why, in spite of some dazzling performances, we were somewhat disappointed in the opera. To cut to the chase, the story worked just fine as a play.  The play did not yearn for music, not even the fine music of Huang Ruo. The references to Puccini's Madama Butterfly, scattered throughout the score, only served to point out the superiority of Puccini's vocal lines. Mr. Ruo's instrumental writing is eclectic and interesting, but the vocal lines were not. This complaint of ours is not unique to Mr. Ruo. Most contemporary operas seem to have the same deficiency.

Although Mr. Hwang and Mr. Ruo have worked together before, we did not feel the union of libretto and music that we hoped for. The "recitative" (95% of the opera) was declamatory, prosy, and repetitive. The nail was hammered so hard it went right through the wood! Is it not taught to dramatists to "show, don't tell"? There were a couple arias in Act III that allowed the artists to show their stuff but were not at all melodic.

Perhaps we were alone in our assessment because there was a standing ovation at the conclusion; however we believe the thunderous applause was meant for the performances. Baritone Mark Stone sang the role of the duped accountant/diplomat René Gallimard with fine rich tone whilst creating a sympathetic and believable portrayal.

Mr. Kim's lustrous counter-tenor added to his consummate acting skills. We can see how Mr. Gallimard was fooled! All of the gestures and movements were as feminine as one could imagine and, at the end, when he appeared as a man (in full frontal glory) it came as a shock, even though we knew the artist was male.

This kind of gender fluidity is far less shocking than it was some decades ago and we do admire Mr. Hwang and Mr. Ruo for tackling issues of racial, cultural, and gender stereotypes, along with the issue of cultural misunderstanding.  The references to Puccini's opera serve to remind us how many changes have occurred in the past century.

Let us return to the quality of the performances and the production. We particularly enjoyed hearing mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu as Song Liling's communist "handler" who set the espionage in motion. We always feel great to see Asian artists cast in Asian roles, although there are other opera lovers who think it doesn't matter.

Tenor Joshua Dennis (a former apprentice) livened things up as Mr. Gallimard's tennis-playing childhood friend, appearing as a memory. Bass Kevin Burdette was fine as the somewhat arrogant French ambassador to China who promotes Mr. Gallimard, seems to admire his acquisition of a Chinese mistress, and then sends him back to France.

Adding greatly to the production was the choreography of Seán Curran who managed to combine communist tropes with the movements we have seen in Chinese opera, an art form we particularly enjoy.

Maestro Carolyn Kuan led the orchestra with a firm hand; our only regret was that more Chinese instruments were not employed. We liked the way she brought out the references to Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Once more, we admired Chorus Master Susanne Sheston for creating a behind the scenes choral rendition of Mr Ruo's very own "Humming Chorus". The apprentices sounded great there and also as they portrayed members of French society in several scenes--as bored expats living in China, and as French citizens laughing at Mr. Gallimard's benightedness.

Director James Robinson kept the action moving along and Allen Moyer's set design was superb, especially Ms. Liling's sexy red boudoir. Christopher Akerlind's lighting made an impressive addition. James Schuette's costumes were right on point. Even the projections of Greg Emetaz were fine since they contributed location information instead of the distractions produced by other projection designers that we have found annoying.

In sum, Santa Fe Opera can be commended for commissioning a provocative and original work and for giving it a first-rate production. It is just our personal taste that wanted a more memorable vocal line and a more poetic libretto. Still, it was an interesting evening in term of getting us to think about the issues mentioned earlier. But for sheer auditory pleasure and a climax that leaves us shaken, we will choose Puccini.

© meche kroop

SUN SET

Joseph Dennis and Corinne Winters (photo by Ken Howard)

A rebellious young woman enrages her father by marrying his best friend who is already married. A nation emerges from centuries of feudalism and endures chaos on its lengthy pathway toward modernity.  Do these story lines sound familiar?  Do they sound like the stuff of opera?  Yes indeed!

The Santa Fe Opera is notable for tackling contemporary operas every season and this year's entry was  the very worthy Dr. Sun Yat-Sen by Huang Ruo who composed some very interesting music made dramatic by the liberal use of percussion.  Carolyn Kuan's conducting was exemplary.

Listening to the fine singing in Mandarin (and some in Cantonese) one could easily forget how much effort went into learning a language phonetically that is so very different from European languages. Mandarin is actually a "sung" language with words having different meanings depending upon the tones which rise and fall musically.  These tones must be sacrificed to sing on the proper pitch which makes it difficult, even for speakers of Mandarin, to understand.

Notwithstanding, the superb singers rose to the challenge.  Most astonishing was the performance of tenor Joseph Dennis as the good doctor himself.  Mr. Dennis is a member of the Apprentice Program and expected to serve as cover.  In a life-changing twist of fate, he wound up the star and garnered universal praise for his exceptionally fine portrayal.  He is onstage singing in nearly every scene and the music is difficult.  He sounded even stronger at the end than he did at the start.  Such are the benefits of a healthy young voice!

As his love interest Soong Ching-Ling, the superb soprano Corinne Winters gave a sensitive portrayal of a young woman who idealized this humble doctor who gave up everything to fight for China's future.  Her voice is nicely focused and has just the right amount of vibrato.  The love duet in Act II was meltingly tender and our favorite scene.

As Dr. Sun's first wife from a youthful arranged marriage we enjoyed soprano Rebecca Witty, another apprentice getting an opportunity for a breakthrough.  Her sacrifice was to grant Dr. Sun a divorce so he could marry Soong Ching-ling.  She has a touching aria in which she tells of being neglected by her husband who was so busy with politics and often in exile.  There was even a touch of humor when she told of her wish to marry an ordinary man in her next life.

As Charlie Soong, Ching-Ling's father, Gong Dong-Jian employed his bass well, both in friendship for Dr. Sun and later in rage when he felt betrayed.  As his wife, mezzo-soprano MaryAnn McCormick was a sympathetic character and we particularly enjoyed her scene with her daughter as papa lay dying. Charlie's reconciliation with his daughter was most touching.

The Japanese friends of Dr. Sun, Mr. and Mrs. Umeya, were portrayed by baritone Chen Ye Yuan and apprentice mezzo-soprano Katherine Carroll.

Should you know what was going on in China at the time that the United States and Europe were involved with The Great War, you would recognize how the libretto by Candace Chong simplified a very complicated story; there were long years of chaos and revolution as Dr. Sun labored to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish a democratic government.

But this is opera and such simplification is necessary. Sufficient it is to know that this humble idealist is still regarded as the father of his country, not only by the Chinese but also by the Taiwanese. The libretto was somewhat static with not much happening onstage. Director James Robinson did what he could to move the story along.

The set was designed by Allen Moyer with the outstanding element being bamboo scaffolding, symbolic of construction and change, erected on both sides and rear of the stage.  Other elements comprised a few pieces of period furniture.

The gorgeous costumes by James Schuette accurately depicted what was worn by both privileged Chinese women and by Westerners at the turn of the 20th c.  One could appreciate the style changes that occurred during the scenes set a couple decades later.  Much research must have been done.

The addition of dancers was an excellent choice as they illustrated the hard lives of the peasants during the feudal period.  Sean Curran's choreography bound the scenes together.

It was a genuine pleasure to hear a contemporary opera with great music.  It was also a great pleasure to hear it sung in Mandarin.  Translated into English, the dialogue would have sounded silly.

(c) meche kroop