Peabody Opera Theatre (POT) and Peabody Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presented four days of sublime opera from Thursday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 24 in the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall. The groups showcased L'enfant et les sortilèges and The Classical Style: An Opera (Of Sorts) which has music by Steven Stucky and libretto by Jeremy Denk. The casts alternate every other day, while musicians performed in every show. Differing from the usual concert set up in the hall, the musicians were all in the pit underneath the stage, leaving room for the performers to perform the opera on the stage above.
The night begins with L'enfant et les sortilèges — composed by Maurice Ravel — and a libretto by Colette. The orchestra starts with a solemn melody, and the character of the Child enters the stage. The rebellious boy begins screaming as Mama comes onto the stage and scolds him for not studying. That agitates the child even more, as he begins to rip and kick at all of the furniture in the room, screaming that he hates school and studying. While all of this is happening on the stage, the orchestra does a wonderful job to liven the scene, as they heighten their dynamics to enhance the mess and chaos that the Child is making.
As the Child is running around, the Tomcat spits toward the child, joined by the Armchair and the Bergére. The furniture all begins to come to life as they complain about not wanting to take care of the “wicked” child and that he has ruined everything for everyone. All of these settings were mixed with humorous acting, which added a nuanced touch that left the crowds in a laughing fit while watching.
This was followed by the appearance of the Grandfather Clock, Teapot, Porcelain Teacup and Fire. As the different characters emerge, they come in with joyful dance moves with funny vocal parts. The orchestra fills in the ambiance nicely by complementing the transition to this brighter section, which helps to articulate the emotions expressed in the section.
In this exchange, the Fire comes is one of the most prominent characters, played by Shinyeong Kim on the Friday, Nov. 22 performance. She has a super powerful voice as she dances, which creates a very elongated melodic line, with a humorous touch as she yells “Beware!” to the Child. She threatens to burn him if he does not become a better person, and the child runs around, saying he is afraid.
In an interview with The News-Letter, Kim said the preparation for this opera and her role began months ago.
“Right after the spring semester of 2024 ended, I received an email from Peabody Opera Theater,” Kim said. “I had to submit my audition video by early July, [so] I started preparing the aria of Le feu (The Fire). It was a new piece for me at that time, which is why I was so busy during the summer break. A month later, I received another email saying I had been offered the role of Fire! It was such an honor, and I was so happy.”
Kim also said she acquired a lot of knowledge from this experience, as it offered her insight into working on a big stage and singing solo alongside an orchestra.
“I usually try not to worry about whether the hall is large or small. I just focused on my body, breathing and creating good resonance. However, I paid a lot of attention to making my pronunciation as precise as possible,“ Kim said. “In a large hall, if I don’t concentrate carefully on my pronunciation, the audience might not understand what I’m saying. [With the orchestra], the Maestro explained that it takes a little time for the orchestra’s sound to reach the stage. I learned that I must trust the maestro over my own ear.”
Soon after, the Princess appears out of the torn storybook that the Child had destroyed earlier. The Princess is someone that the Child thinks of fondly, which teaches him that he should not have demolished the book. The child says he will protect her, and as he falls asleep, the Princess goes away, and the Child is seen weeping on the stage.
As the Child wakes up, he comes back to reality and is bombarded with teachers, students and textbooks. This part of the play was very comical: The teacher and students yell at the Child about math while demanding answers to the problem, which causes the Child to be distressed.
The scene transitions as the Child holds his head while looking stressed, which is supported by a beautiful flute melody that emulates the sad and sulking atmosphere. The Child is now in the garden to escape all of the chaos from inside, but it follows him as the Trees, Dragonfly and Nightingale all come to life and call the child “wicked.”
The opera reaches the climax when the Squirrel gets hurt, and the Child actually helps by dressing the wound. In an unfortunate turn, the Child also falls and bleeds, but the animals don’t initially know how to save him. They all start saying “Mama,” hoping it will wake the Child up, and he eventually does. The animals begin to act friendly towards the child, and they all harmonize as the child is reunited with Mama.
“I really loved the ending scene of the opera,” Kim said. “Especially [because] all the conflicts are resolved in this scene, and all the cast members are on stage, showing their characters at the same time. The entire cast formed a circle, and [the Child] makes eye contact with each of the characters in order. The performance finally ends with happiness.”
The Classical Style: an Opera (of sorts) was a humorous piece from the very beginning. Jeremy Denk wrote the libretto for this opera and described the music for this piece live, where he exclaimed, “Listen with an open mind” as the opera began. The first three characters that appear are composers Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and they roast each other. Haydn tells Beethoven that greatness takes effort and grills Mozart in the film about himself with exasperation that makes the audience laugh. These interactions really expressed the lighthearted type of humor that Denk enjoys.
The opera intertwines these old composers with modern references to Hollywood and taxes, which makes the situation more relatable to our current lives. The characters mention that The New York Times referenced classical music as dead, orchestra sales are dropping and the audience that comes to the concerts is all old. The opera does a great job bringing in modern concerns of classical music and bringing it to the stage by having the characters express those issues through their role.
Trying to discover how classical music can be revived again, the opera delves into a book written by Charles Rosen that describes how great the three composers are and how classical music is a “reconciliation of conflicting ideals,” which is sung in a beautiful, prominent tonality. The Bartender talks about resolutions in music and how everyone wants the Dominant chord to resolve in the music but that the chord is never-ending. This whole section is filled with singing, with the Dominant chord saying, “Look at me,” which makes the audience, especially musicians, laugh and understand the connotation.
Other chords are also introduced, such as the Tonic Chord and Subdominant Chord. The opera talks about the relationship between the Dominant and Tonic chord, paralleling it to relationships in real life, as the dominant chord most often goes to the tonic. Then, it moves on to describe the circle of fifths and how Mozart was one of the first composers to use the relationship outlined in the circle. This is connected to Mozart’s famous piece, Don Giovanni, and how emotionally strong the piece is.
By describing how prominent the music of the classical composers is to the development of music over the years while creating a jovial atmosphere, the writers and performers made it possible for the audience to enjoy the opera while learning about classical music. The opera continues by mentioning how many times Beethoven has been performed and how classical music is actively involved in our daily lives.
As the composers continue on their journey to find Charles Rosen, who is supposed to give them answers to prevent the decline of classical music in our modern world, the Tristan Chord appears. This chord is described as the saddest of all chords, which emulates the fear for the future of classical music. Eventually, the Tonic, Dominant and Subdominant chords come together and appreciate each other’s company, showing that musicians will stay together in order to keep classical music alive.
The opera ends with the composers meeting Charles Rosen and emphasizing their desires for classical music to be relevant to the people in the 21st century, and the cast all come together to take their final courteous bows, which garner many shouts of joy from the audience.
