Emperor Of Atlantis and The Clever One
Recently Southern California opera lovers have been privileged to encounter a number of seldom-seen works by various composers linked by period and location, if not by style. LA Opera's Rediscovered Voices has introduced early works by composers who were later silenced by the Third Reich. Now, for the final production in their 30th Anniversary Season, Long Beach Opera has gone a step further by producing two works written during the Nazi Regime.
Viktor Ullmann's THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS, was composed within the walls of the Terezin Concentration Camp-- the famous “model” camp where the Nazis exploited the artistic pursuits of its inmates in order to camouflage the the true horror of life behind the walls. A production of EMPEROR was in rehearsal until the Nazis saw a run-through of the piece and recognized a familiar target in its uncompromising satire of a ruthless dictatorship. They canceled the show. Within a month after that final rehearsal, Ullmann, his librettist Petr Kien, and the entire cast and orchestra were transported to Auschwitz. Only handful of singers survived.
In contrast, Carl Orff lived and worked comfortably in Germany throughout the War years. Although it is not known if Orff actively promoted National Socialism, he certainly never spoke out against it and, like Strauss, he accepted honors from the government. His opera THE CLEVER ONE premiered in 1943. The same year that saw the aborted EMPEROR production.
Ever adventurous in choice of locale as well as repertoire, Long Beach presented the operas in the old boiler room of the Queen Mary, which sits, appropriately enough, in Long Beach Harbor. The journey down two stories (below the waterline), the industrial walls of the ship, the visible rivets and the obvious transitory nature of the playing space set an immediate tone which only added to the effective mis en scene.
Kien's allegorical EMPEROR libretto stands the DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY premise on its ear by introducing the power-mad Emperor Uberall, who declares a War that will allow no survivors. Stunned by the man's hubris, Death goes on strike and people immediately stop dying-- a hanged man twists in the wind, hospital patients writhe in endless pain and opposing armies can only perform a Deathless Quadrille of carnage. Caught in a literal No Man's Land between Life and Death, a miserable populace rises up and eventually breaks the will of the Emperor. The sweet release of Death is once more granted to Mankind.
Ullmann was obviously influenced greatly by Schoenberg but there are populist hints of Weill and Eisler in the score as well. Roberto Perlas Gomez sang the punishingly stentorian role of the Emperor with style and enviable power; especially considering it was his second performance of the day. (the limited seating capacity and demand for tickets forced Long Beach to add a matinee performance to the run.) Dean Elzinga was a suave and smoothly sung Death spiced liberally with petulance, while Doug Jones brought an achingly world weary tone to Harlequin. Timur
Bekbosunov and Suzan Hanson sang sensitively as a well-matched pair of Soldiers and, after spending the bulk of the season in male roles, Peabody Southwell proved herself all-woman with a voluptuously-voiced Drummer. Mark Bringelson and Jesse Merlin were the Loudspeakers, who appeared in control at the start but wound up lost and powerless with the others. Merlin impressed with his gravitas and the effortless power his dark-hued instrument.
Orff's score for THE CLEVER ONE includes many of the familiar musical motifs which have made CARMINA BURANA such a perennial favorite-- the propulsive beat, the bleating tenor line, the direct simplicity of the melodies. But, shorn of the large choral and orchestral forces, he is forced to make subtler choices, resulting in a less polished and more truly folk-like feel to the music. The opera also reveals a more playful and witty Orff. The libretto, which he wrote himself, includes a good deal of verbal wordplay (nicely delineated in Gerhard Lenssen's translation) while the score is punctuated with musical jokes including a hysterically appropriate quotation of “The Donkey Serenade.” The familiar story of the wily Peasant's Daughter who answers three riddles and wins the King, was derived from German Folklore.
Most of the cast returned for The Clever One. Suzan Hanson dominated vocally and dramatically as the Peasant Girl who becomes Queen while Gomez continued in a ruling vein as the King. Elzinga was a pathetic Peasant and Doug Jones proved an eloquent simpleton as the Man with the Donkey. Newcomers Andrew Fernando and Benito Galindo were welcome additions as they joined Bekbosunov and Merlin in the country hi-jinks.
Artistic Director, Andreas Mitisek, took on the added duties of Director and Designer for the production with spectacularly effective results. The set for EMPEROR was starkly minimal, consisting of bunk beds in an omnipresent reminder of the camps. For CLEVER ONE, giant rolls of butcher paper and markers were used to great and properly ironic effect. The ship's stairways were utilized in both shows. Mitisek's direction was clear and concise, allowing the material to speak for itself. His conducting was fluent and eloquent, making a strong case for these little-seen works, which obviously mean a great deal to him.
Long Beach Opera on the Queen Mary May 8 & 17, 2009 562 432-5934 www.longbeachopera.org