VIEWPOINTS – A recap of recent contemporary operas: Huang Ruo’s AN AMERICAN SOLDIER at PAC NYC and reassessing Kevin Puts’s THE HOURS at The Met

Over the past week or so, I had the opportunity to take in two notable contemporary opera productions, the New York premiere of Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier at the Perelman Performing Arts Center and and the return of Kevin Puts’ high profile operatic adaptation of The Hours at The Metropolitan Opera. Here are my thoughts on them.

Nina Yoshida Nelsen and Brian Vu in Huang Ruo’s “An American Soldier” at the Perelman Performing Arts Center (photo by Marc J. Franklin).

AN AMERICAN SOLDIER
Perelman Performing Arts Center
Closed

First up at the new Perelman Performing Arts Center in the Financial District was Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier (RECOMMENDED), which wrapped up its limited run last weekend. Based on a true story, the powerful new opera tells the story of a Chinese-American soldier, Army Private Danny Chen, who was discovered dead in a guard tower in Afghanistan on October 3, 2011. Taking place alternately between the subsequent court-martial hearings and the events and circumstances leading up to Chen’s death, the PAC NYC and Boston Lyric Opera co-commission — which has been gradually expanding and is now nearly double the length of its original one act form — meditates on the realities of modern day racism and what it means to be an American. One of contemporary classical music’s rising composers, Ruo has been making noticeable strides in making a name for himself in the opera world, particularly with works like Book of Mountains and Seas and Angel Island (both of which were recently seen in Brooklyn at St. Ann’s Warehouse and BAM, respectively). By seamlessly integrating traditional Chinese and Western music, his score for An American Soldier — sensitively conducted by Carolyn Kuan — embraces the notion of multi-dimensionality, very much like the opera’s tragic central character. Comprised of a parade of short, punchy scenes (cleanly and efficiently directed by theater director Chay Yew), Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s libretto is aggressive and clear-eyed, making its stance on matters abundantly clear every step of the way. The committed cast was led by Brian Vu in the title role and Nina Yoshida Nelsen as his devastated mother. Both gave vocally and dramatically forceful performances that brought urgency to the sadly still relevant cautionary tale.

Kelli O’Hara, Renée Fleming, and Joyce DiDonato in Kevin Puts’s “The Hours” at The Metropolitan Opera (photo by Evan Zimmerman).

THE HOURS
The Metropolitan Opera
In repertory through May 31

I also had the chance to re-assess Kevin Puts’s operatic adaptation of The Hours (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Based on Michael Cunningham’s award-winning 1998 novel of the same (which was subsequently made into a successful film), the opera has returned to the Metropolitan Opera this spring after its much anticipated world premiere last season. Once again, beloved opera divas Kelli O’Hara, Renée Fleming, and Joyce DiDonato take the Met stage to play three women — separated by time and space — who are connected through associations with Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway. Upon second hearing, Puts’s thoughtfully-judged opera score makes a strong impression for being one of the more accomplished recent efforts by a contemporary American composer. Puts has created a distinct musical language for each of the work’s three eras and heroines, binding them with shimmering choral and orchestral writing that unifies them with great skill and feeling (kudos to conductor Kensho Watanabe for bringing out the score’s full spectrum). His work on The Hours is a keeper, and I’d like to see other singers put their own stamp on the roles. In adapting the celebrated novel, librettist Greg Pierce brings poetry and succinct eloquence to Cunningham’s overlapping narratives, which director Phelim McDermott animates with fluidity and welcome specificity. And although only DiDonato — playing against type as the somber Virginia Woolf herself — is still really the only one of the three to make a true vocal impact, each of the leading ladies nonetheless are giving dramatic performances that give weight, more than before, to their character’s tortured plights. In fact, this revival distinguishes itself for being uncommonly well-acted all around (e.g., bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen’s affecting performance as an author dying of AIDS).

Categories: Music, Opera, Other Music

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