“Goodbye, My Town.”
With those words, the newly deceased Emily Webb accepts her fate and bids a heart-rending farewell to life on Earth in the fitting culmination to Ned Rorem’s powerful new operatic adaptation of “Our Town.”
The Aspen Opera Theater Center unveiled the Western premiere of the 2 1/2-hour work Saturday evening – the first of three performances in the 1889 Wheeler Opera House as part of the continuing Aspen Music Festival.
In an innovative partnership that could serve as a model for future such projects, the festival was one of five co-commissioners of the opera, with the Indiana University Opera Theater serving as lead commissioner and presenting the world premiere in February.
Put simply, “Our Town” is a winner. Unlike so many freshly minted operas that are immediate busts or need considerable reworking, this one succeeds flawlessly on nearly every level.
Rorem and librettist J.D.
McClatchy, a prominent poet who has collaborated on several other operas, kept things appropriately simple. Aside from a few necessary parings, they scrupulously hewed to Thornton Wilder’s masterful 1938 play, letting the drama unfold in a clean, clear and appropriately intimate way.
To his credit, director Edward Berkeley brings this same spirit to his staging, emphasizing the honesty and humanity of the story. Like many productions of the play, the sets are minimal, with pantomime taking the place of missing props and scenery.
There is virtually nothing innovative about the opera’s musical language, a fact that will likely serve as the dividing line between its critics and fans. Devotees of the avant garde are likely to turn up their noses, while anyone not opposed to traditionalism will probably love it.
“Our Town” follows solidly in a 50-year tradition that forms the heart of American opera – unabashedly vernacular, lyrical creations such as “Susannah,” “Summer and Smoke” and, well known to Colorado audiences, “The Ballad of Baby Doe.”
Rorem, an 82-year-old composer who was long out of fashion because he refused to accept the atonalism that dominated classical music for much of the 20th century, has crafted a pleasing, tuneful score that responds to the story in a direct, uncomplicated manner.
Although he questions his abilities as an operatic composer in his program statement, Rorem clearly has an affinity for the voice, and “Our Town” demonstrates his theatrical instincts in convincing fashion.
David Zinman, the festival’s world-renowned music director, makes a rare appearance in the pit, drawing the best from his fine student orchestra and bringing this opera vibrantly to life with his usual care and intelligence.
Because Aspen makes use of apprentice singers priming for their professional careers, performances can be a little uneven at times. Although that is true in certain cases in this production, no excuses have to be made for Jennifer Zetlan.
This dynamic young soprano, who shined last year in Aspen’s production of “The Cunning Little Vixen,” turns in another terrific, all-around performance in the pivotal role of Emily.
A first-rate actress with a confident stage presence, Zetlan looks the part and convincingly conveys Emily’s evolution from shy adolescent to young mother-to-be to death. She has a lovely, forceful voice with fetching, pitch-perfect high notes.
Portraying Emily’s lifelong sweetheart, George Gibbs, is another fine actor, Matthew Morris, a light tenor who struggles with a few high notes but is strong overall. Jason Collins effectively handles the role of narrator/stage manager but his otherwise fine tenor voice is hurt by a pronounced vibrato and an often-forced upper register.
Other notable performances include bass Tom Dugdale as Dr. Gibbs, tenor Jonathan Smucker as chorus master Simon Stimson, an alcoholic contrarian, and mezzo-soprano Mary Ann Stewart, who delights as the busybody Mrs. Soames.
Most new operas are placed on a shelf and forgotten, but it seems a good bet that other opera companies will jump at the chance to stage this wonderful new take on an American classic.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
Ned Rorem’s “Our Town”
OPERA|Aspen Opera Theater Center, Aspen Music Festival, Wheeler Opera House, 427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen; 7 p.m. Wednesday|$20 | 970-925-9042 or aspenmusicfestival.com.
