Julie continues until November 29th at the Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, 27 Front Street East. http://www.soundstreams.ca/Julie
When it comes to contemporary opera, the proverbial “Stand and Sing” or – putting it more crudely – “Park and Bark” style just doesn’t cut it anymore. Given 21st century cultural and audience sensibilities, a contemporary work has to be a melding of music, text and drama in a way that completely engages the audiences’ senses. When done well, with all the disparate elements in place, it can be a riveting experience in the theatre. Take for example the North American premiere of Julie, Philippe Boesmans’ 2005 opera based on August Strindberg’s play. It opened two nights ago at the Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre. It proved in many ways to be a striking and memorable take on the original Strindberg, from 1888.
This play seems to have a special appeal to opera composers – Boesmans is the third to take a stab at this, after American Ned Rorem (1965) and Brit William Alwyn (1977). Incidentally, when I was an undergrad at SUNY Buffalo way back when, Rorem was the composer in residence and there was some sort of a workshop performance so I got to hear it, shortly before it premiered at the New York City Opera. Stylistically, Rorem’s musical idiom is not so different from Boesmans’ except musically more romantic, closer to Samuel Barber in style. Even to my unsophisticated and inexperienced ears, I enjoyed it.
The Belgian Philippe Boesmans’ musical language is decidedly theatrical. I admit to knowing very little about this composer, so when it was announced that Soundstreams and Canadian Stage were joining forces to put on Julie, I had to do some quick research. Thanks to Youtube, I watched snippets of this chamber piece and borrowed the commercially DVD from a performance in Aix en Provence. I felt well prepared attending the premiere last evening, but there were still some surprises. Luc Bondy wrote the libretto in German. It was performed in an English translation, and all to the good, making it more accessible, even with surtitles.
The stage director is Matthew Jocelyn who has worked extensively with the composer, with set design by Alain Lagarde. The Bluma Appel theatre isn’t a true opera stage but this show doesn’t require extensive stagecraft, even if the storm scene with its collapsing corner of the ceiling was a bit odd.
The opening at the Bluma Appel appeared totally full, nice to see in opera these days. As operas go, this piece is very short at 75 minutes, performed without an intermission. Leslie Dala led the chamber orchestra of just under 20 players with a sure hand. I find Boesmans’ musical idiom tonal and accessible – there are even traces of melodies, especially in the early going. He writes well for the voice, and the performance benefited from three fine singing actors, an All-Canadian cast. As Julie, mezzo Lucia Cervoni, American trained and European based, made an auspicious Canadian debut. Her rich, dark-hued mezzo and alluring stage presence gives the character a knowing, world-weary air. Her Julie is an anti-heroine, not very sympathetic, but then there aren’t any lovable characters in this piece! Baritone Clarence Frazer as Jean has the appropriate swagger, his warm baritone sounding fine, especially in the upper reaches. The role of Christine is written for a high coloratura, and Sharleen Joynt certainly has all the stratospheric notes to do the role justice.
While musically a fine evening, I do feel the way the piece is constructed to be dramatically problematic. With the story compressed into a 75-minute opera without overt scene changes, the behaviour of the characters appear too abrupt and doesn’t really ring true. It could use a bit more character development, which would make the many changes of mood more convincing, particularly the ultimate suicide of Julie. No doubt I am critiquing an opera based on a 127-year-old play with 21st-century eyes. It was quite a sordid story in its time, but to contemporary audiences, it has lost much of its visceral impact and appears more of a period piece. It begs the question whether something like this is better “updated” or left “as is.” My feeling leans towards making it relevant to contemporary audiences through whatever means, but is it necessary? After all, when it comes to affairs of the heart, nothing really changes.
Julie continues until November 29th at the Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, 27 Front Street East. http://www.soundstreams.ca/Julie
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