3 minute read
Opera
from March 16, 2022
by Ithaca Times
Inevitable change
Opera Ithaca and Ithaca College collaborate to show the inescapability of change, in ourselves and in our world.
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By Barbara Adams
The Orkney Islands off Scotland’s northeastern coast provide an evocative setting for an original opera, “We Wear the Sea Like a Coat.” The regretfully brief five performances recently marked the world premiere of this collaboration between Opera Ithaca and Ithaca College’s music and theatre departments.
The compelling music was written by IC music professor Sally Lamb McCune, with Yvonne Gray and Rachel Lampert penning the libretto. Opera Ithaca artistic director Benjamin Robinson staged the work, and IC music professor Christopher Zemliauskas directed the student orchestra.
Ithaca College’s mainstage theatre was transformed by a haunting set (the work of senior Rebecca Gottbetter) –– a cavelike frame of looming boulders, with rock piles that shifted against an endless seascape sky. Throughout, the suggestive lighting design by senior Keegan Webber echoed the music’s moods. Two intimate interiors slipped in and out as well: a busy pub, The Brig, complete with musicians, and a warm simple cottage for the young American couple who’ve landed in this distant place.
Sara is a scientist on assignment for an oceanographic institute, while her husband Jonathan, a professor who failed to gain tenure, hopes to work on his writing. Some tension exists, as he looks forward to starting a family while she doubts that’s a good decision. Sara’s work-focused; Jonathan’s more exploratory, open to discovering the mysteries of the island and the culture.
They’re gradually accepted by most of the locals, until Sara’s institute is bought out by Hallex International, an oil giant (echoes of Halliburton). Outside development has precipitated climate change in the islands, posing danger to the land, the archeological sites and even the local fishermen. The couple’s personal drama seems small in the shadow of the environmental struggle, and the narrative offers finally only one assurance: the ineluctability of change.
The interactions of the couple and townspeople are threaded with the appearances of three terns, who preside over the shifting fate of the Orkneys and affirm nature’s inevitable dominance. The terns –– Anchal Indu Dhir, Mayavati Prabhaker, and Athena Rajnai –– are fabulously arrayed in filmy dark fabrics with feathered epaulets (superb costumes throughout by senior Hannah Sotnek). Their flighty movements are choreographed by Jeanne Goddard, who also shapes the ocean movements (women wafting iridescent blue gauze). The terns animate the emotional through-line but the ocean swells seem too whimsical, cartoonish.
Interestingly, the terns’ beaky black masks are repeated by those of the entire cast (who are wisely masked for health purposes) –– further suggesting the avian and human connection on these islands. Surprisingly, the masks don’t significantly impede the singing, and the supertitles account for rare instances of unclear phrasing.
The singing in this production was strong, matched by the performers’ acting: Elena Galván and Dann Coakwell as the American couple; Steven Stull as the charmingly laid-back local historian; and Mariya Kaganskaya as Rowan, the welcoming county archeologist. (On alternate nights, IC students Sofia Medaglia performed Sara and Madison Hoerbelt the part of Rowan.) Antagonists Colin (Brad Brickhardt), a strident environmentalist, and Marcus (Evan Sacco), a growth-minded businessman, square off regularly at the pub. Fisherman Charlie (Nicholas Capodilupo) is a quietly imposing presence.
This opera’s blend of the practical with the poetic succeeds often but not consistently. The context and locale are absorbing, the ancient sites suggesting thousands of years of human effort and desire. We’re reminded that our past, like the future, is shrouded in mystery. Jonathan is drawn to the intrinsic rhythms of the land and the Orcadians living in harmony with it. And McCune’s score, especially in its use of woodwinds, captures this spirit, as does the singing of the terns.
The libretto is what varies in effectiveness: sometimes lyrical and expressive, other times explanatory and prosaic. The theme of humans despoiling nature is not new, but this particular setting is fresh. Some plot elements give one pause, though: the duet between Jonathan and Rowan is so exquisite, their connection so profound, that it seemed some romantic attachment was building. Of most concern, the opera’s central tragic moment (which only occurs because of a complete absence of common sense) is washed over too quickly by an optimistic several-yearslater coda.
Emotionally and intellectually, one can’t help feeling a bit tossed about –– but there is much that’s beautiful and admirable in this imaginative new work.
