Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Heather Christian’s bizarre, profound, and altogether singular ORATORIO FOR LIVING THINGS asks big questions from a cosmic perspective

• By drediman
• March 31, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, Heather Christian’s Oratorio for Living Things opened Off-Broadway at the Greenwich House Theater. The immersive production, which comes courtesy of the folks at Ars Nova, was one of the casualties of the 2020 spring season. Now, just about two years onwards, the bizarre, profound, and altogether singular piece of music theater – which can generally be said of Christian’s works (which include Animal Wisdom and I Am Sending You the Sacred Face, both of which were streamed during lockdown) – has officially arrived. As a work that existentially investigates humanity’s place in the universe, from the quantum to the cosmic, the piece actually seems better suited to our current questioning times than the “before” times.

Oratorio for Living Things does not necessarily break boundaries as much as disregard them. Although Christian draws from the classical oratorio form and is informed by a myriad of musical genres (classical, jazz, rock, country, theater music, etc.), her work is never defined by them. Musically, the piece seamlessly ebbs and flows between tidal force and gently undulating aural caresses. To say that the work does away with traditional narrative storytelling is an understatement. Indeed, the enigmatic composition progresses organically from theme to theme, as if by instinct. I’m not going to lie, much of the libretto (a lot of which is written in Latin) confounded me, but as a depiction of humanity through a collective, symphonic offering up of individual stories and voices, it’s a breathtaking achievement.

For its current run, Oratorio for Living Things has been outfitted for an ensemble of 12 wonderfully idiosyncratic singers (perhaps echoing the 12 apostles?), and they handle the wide-ranging demands of Christian’s score gloriously. Director Lee Sunday Evans has gracefully staged the piece in an intimate (almost claustrophobic) cocoon-like arena, in which she elegantly blocks the choral ensemble. In such a confined, communal space, the sonic experience of Christian’s work is awe-inspiring and almost too overwhelming. Indeed, when the chorus breaks out in full vocal force, the room literally shakes with the grandeur of the moment, building a cathedral of sound that’s downright spiritual.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ORATORIO FOR LIVING THINGS
Off-Broadway, Music Theater
Ars Nova at the Greenwich House Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through April 17