January 30, 2005
Conductor William Lumpkin rehearses the IU Philharmonic Tuesday for IU Opera Theater's upcoming production of "A View From the Bridge." Staff photo by Chris Howell Views of 'The Bridge'
Building 'A View From the Bridge': An inside view of IU Opera Theater's latest productionby Peter Jacobi, Herald-Times
From a world premiere at Chicago's Lyric Opera in 1999 to a remounting at New York's Metropolitan in 2002, from a couple of additional professional stagings in Germany and this country to its first collegiate production by Indiana University's Opera Theater: That has been the voyage of William Bolcom's "A View from the Bridge."
Opening with a pair of performances in the Musical Arts Center Friday and Saturday, Bolcom's setting of Arthur Miller's renowned tragedy becomes just the latest among major contemporary operas that have made it here as early on productions. Bolcom comes to the IU Opera Theater a second time for collegiate premieres: first "McTeague" in 1996 and now "A View from the Bridge." Who knows? Perhaps his most recent operatic effort, a take on Robert Altman's film "The Wedding," introduced in Chicago just two months ago, will find its way to Bloomington.
For now, we wait expectantly for Bolcom's "View" to find out what music does for Miller's story of 1950s Brooklyn and longshoreman Eddie Carbone who, as in Greek tragedies, sets a path to his own destruction when overtaken by jealousy.
Composer Bolcom will be in town to offer advice during this dress rehearsal week and to view those first two performances next weekend. He and others involved in the production speak about the project.
The Composer
"I'd come to know Arthur Miller, and I'd wondered if one of his plays would make a better opera than another," Bolcom mused in retracing how his opera came to be. "As it turned out, 'A View from the Bridge' was perfect. But I asked myself, 'Is it worth doing? Am I really adding anything?' Questions like that bedeviled me until I began to think of things the opera could do that a play couldn't. While a play is going to be first on the verbal plane, an opera goes straight to the emotional core."
Bolcom turned not to the better-known, full-length play but to an earlier one-act account, "a wonderful treasure trove … a bit high-flown, more of a poetry play. We found that the first version could in many cases be set musically just as it was. In working with sections of it, we did go back to a much more extended kind of language, which is natural for singing."
Bolcom has been called an eclectic composer. One hears various styles in his music, this, however, not because he lacks a distinctive voice. Take the use of the pop tune, "Paper Doll," which figures prominently in the score. When Rodolpho sings it in the opera, "He doesn't sing it like an American pop singer," explained Bolcom, "but like someone who would have learned the tune in Sicily or Naples in that very lyrical, popsy style popular throughout southern Italy. I got the idea from Arthur Miller. That's the way he always wanted it done, and no actor in the play had ever been able to do it that way.
"I wanted the major characters to have tunes with the same accessibility that a good Broadway tune had, in the days when there were good Broadway tunes, which, unfortunately, is a very long time ago."
The Conductor
According to William Lumpkin, the production's music director visiting from Boston University's Opera Institute, Bolcom's music "evokes stylistically, quintessentially, styles of American music. The composer melds to the story forms of music that the audience will be used to — jazz, pop, the tango and what Puccini and Verdi brought to opera. Everything works with a purpose."
The orchestration "is immense," he told me. "Every day, I open the score, and I find something new. Bill tests limits of the instruments. Your Philharmonic," the pit ensemble, "handles it beautifully. It's a terrific orchestra."
When we talked early in the week, Lumpkin had yet to hear the chorus. "It's major in the opera, a Greek chorus commenting on the action and the motivations of the characters," he noted. As for the cast, he praised IU's singers, "faced with the challenge of not being caught up by what previous singers did with the roles. It's far more interesting and productive for them to create their own characterizations than to imitate, and I think that's what has been going on."
The Stage Director
Vince Liotta, who also directed IU Opera Theater's production of Bolcom's "McTeague," said he saw the original staging of "View" in Chicago. "It was impressive, huge, but fussy and made me a little uncomfortable. In Greek tragedy, it's about actors, not sets. It's about the characters and how they interact far more than it is about Thebes or, in this case, Brooklyn.
"We've approached the opera more simply, attempting to give a sense of the urban context but to dampen physical reality in favor of the story being told, said Liotta. "And that draws attention to Miller's strong theater and Bolcom's intensifying musical language. I find that an instantaneous impact comes from the music. The score has made the tragedy even more poignant."
Liotta expressed the hope that audiences will be caught up. "They'll discover that just because the opera is new, it's not inaccessible. Bolcom is brilliant. Every moment is suffused with supporting emotion. And, of course, the story is a true tragedy, more about those who come to see and hear than about those who populate the opera. 'There but for the grace of God go I,' they'll likely say to themselves. 'Eddie, don't do that.' That way, we purge ourselves of negative behavior."
The Designer
Veteran designer Robert O'Hearn claims an early tie with "A View from the Bridge." He served as assistant to designer Boris Aronson when the one-act Miller play was first mounted for Broadway in 1955.
"Originally," for the production, he said, "we planned to rent the Chicago sets. They're terribly elaborate, however, with three big projection screens. The cost of trucking all that down here along with royalty fees proved prohibitive. It was less expensive to create our own sets. And that's what we've done."
A feature here will be a projection of the Brooklyn Bridge. "Otherwise, we intend the stage picture to be more abstract than realistic," said O'Hearn. "This is not 'Boheme,' which requires the artist studio, the Cafe Momus, the gates of Paris. We don't want to get in the way of the action and to burden the stage with realistic obstructions. Instead, we're aiming to suggest scene through simplicity."
The Singers
Todd Wieczorek, the opening night Eddie, labeled his assignment as "challenging. Eddie is a man confused as to why he's acting the way he does. He can't see what others see, that he's fallen in love with his niece. He seeks scapegoats for his emotions. The character is not necessarily someone I deal with on a personal level. It's been a stretch for me, a second attempt at such a portrayal. I performed in the IU Theater's production of 'Sweeney Todd.' Eddie isn't inherently evil like that, but he has dimensions of feeling that go way beyond my own experiences."
Jessica Julin, the opening night Beatrice (Eddie's wife), referred to her character as "monumental, the woman who tries to keep the peace, the voice of reason among characters acting on sheer emotion. It's been a big responsibility to take on, to get into, to soak up. Other roles I've done are mostly about the music. Here, it's the drama and the music together. I'm proud to have been involved, grueling as it's been. … I've come to love the music."
Allison Bates portrays the young Catherine in the cast that sings Saturday evening. "She's very important to the story," said Bates. "In the part, I'm responsible for catalyzing Eddie's emotions and ultimate death. His feelings for me drive the conflict. As a girl of 17, I don't know what to do about it, a point important to convey. The music is hard, far more than just a string of arias, but I think it works real well. To be a part of something where only one or two other singers have ever filled the role, that's a great feeling. You have an opportunity to put your own stamp on it."
Eduardo Aladren is Friday night's Rodolpho, the young fellow who romances Catherine. "I was a little afraid when we started. It takes time to get inside the music, to get it into your ears. It's not like 'Rigoletto' or 'Butterfly.' … Every day, I feel more comfortable. And with Mr. Bolcom here, it will be like having Giuseppe Verdi in the audience. … I'm auditioning for the Met in March, and one of the arias I'll sing is Rodolpho's. It will be my lyrical English aria and show off my technique."
Your View
WHAT: "A View From The Bridge"
WHO: IU Opera Theater
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Feb. 11 and 12.
WHERE: Musical Arts Center, on Jordan Avenue on the IU campus, Bloomington.
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $20, $12 for IU students
INFO: Call (812) 855-2255.
Stage director Vincent Liotta watches rehearsal from the seats at the Musical Arts Center Jan. 21. Liotta is directing "A View From the Bridge." Staff photo by Chris Howell
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Last Updated:
01/31/2005
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