La Bohème: To stage, or not to stage? That is the question.

As a child who spent his formative years in the opera house, both onstage and in the pit, my appreciation of this marvelous art-form we call opera is at the very core of what I understand to be the communicative potential of music.

Those early experiences left me with a memory of opera which is beyond music, scenery, and costumes, extending to smells and spine tingling rushes of excitement, with my every sense being saturated by the cumulative effect not only of the performance, but of the life one leads in order to prepare a performance of this many-faceted art.

In fact, my childhood memories are dominated by opera. For a while, my family lived on the other side of a mountain range from the opera house. Each and every Friday afternoon we would pile into this old, stinking-of-exhaust car and drive over the mountains for rehearsals, returning on Sunday evening. (I am not making this up!)

So, it was not only opera itself, but the process of what goes into committing to making opera happen which imprinted itself so deeply into my subconsciousness.

Needless to say, I did not learn until adulthood that opera was also a tremendously expensive art to produce. That it is expensive makes sense, of course, since we must fund the musicians - singers and instrumentalists – in detailed rehearsal not only for the music, but also for the time it takes to integrate the dramatic nuance of theater into the music. And we must add the cost of scenery and costumes.

But that is, surely, what makes opera what it is: a feast for the eyes and ears – a saturating experience for the senses.

At this very time, stories from across the United States are being told, almost on a daily basis, of the reduction or elimination of opera performances. Even the great opera houses in New York and Los Angeles are proposing trimmed seasons for the foreseeable future, while slightly smaller markets, such as in Baltimore and Orlando, are seeing the closure of their companies.

There is no need for me, here, to spend any further time referencing the economic downturn that currently grips the entire world. The question before us was and is quite simple: can we afford to present a fully staged opera in Charleston at this time? If not, is there any use or point, even, in presenting the music without the staging, costumes, and scenery?

I have referenced the actions of companies such as the Metropolitan Opera as a means of answering the first question. The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra cannot afford to imperil the future of the core mission of the orchestra in order that we continue to pay the (ever increasing) costs that a fully staged opera represents. We are a symphony orchestra at our core and we must focus on protecting our symphonic performances into the future. If I am to fulfill my responsibilities as your Artistic Director, I must be willing to make decisions I believe to be in the best long-term interests of the WVSO, regardless of personal feelings or ambition.

But what of the second question? Is there anything of value left in Puccini’s creation if we do not present it in a fully staged version? What if I were to up the ante even further and rhetorically postulate that a semi-staged version robs La Bohème of its “full glory?”

This is where it gets very interesting for me. I started out by describing some of my childhood experiences with opera. On reflection, I realize that opera is, indeed, the sum of its parts, but it is most surely the sum of its compromised parts!

Allow me to give you but one example. I remember vividly my mother (an opera singer) constantly speaking in my company of the importance of diction in singing: she was adamant that the words be understandable. She often worked with colleagues who felt that the glory of the voice should trump diction. This topic deserves its own dedicated discussion, but the simple truth is that all singers will make “adjustments” to vowels and consonants in order to be able to sing a given passage. This is notably true when singing in translation, when the composer has had no control over the connection between the pitch and the vowel.

Here's an example from this opera. At the end of the first act of La Bohème, Mimi ascends to a high C on the word “amor.” Nice open vowels in the original Italian. A German singer, required to enunciate “Liebe,” with a closed “e” vowel, cannot do this and sing a beautiful high C. The soprano has no choice: the German will modify the vowel to be able to sing the note. Were one to sing the opera in English, the soprano has no choice but to make a compromise. The word “love” will be sung as “aah,” pure and simple. No “l” and no “v.”

Was my mother “right” in this argument, or was this a case of a broader conclusion being drawn? What I learned from this, and have since found to be the case with every “either/or” question, is that opera is the art of compromise.

Herein lies the silver lining. By not staging the opera in a full-blown production, we have the potential of allowing the music to be presented and revealed more fully.

In case it is not glaringly obvious, I have chosen to be a symphonic conductor as my life’s work, so I can be expected to show a little bias here. But I think it is no conceit to say that any opera succeeds in the repertory based on its music. Can you think of an opera whose plot, libretto, and stage effects are so compelling that it is acclaimed despite its music being awful? I can’t. Not a single one. On the other hand, I can think of several operas whose music is their only reason for still being performed today.

La Bohème is not such an opera, of course. The story is compelling, believable (almost overwhelmingly so), and relevant. Even so, the act of compromise which necessarily occurs when putting staging with the music means that Puccini’s music cannot reach its full glory when the singer/actors are concentrating on things other than the music.

But, as wonderful and dramatic as the story of La Bohème is, Puccini has written a score which is a triumph of imaginative story telling in music. In fact, by using our imaginations to fully realize the drama, we will be participating in this experience in a fundamentally deeper way than if we also use our eyes. This is similar to comparing the reader of a book with a viewer of a movie: each one of us will have a uniquely personal experience of the sights, sounds, (and smells) of this great work when our primary focus is the music.

Our semi-staged version allows us to celebrate Puccini’s genius as a composer. The music is front and center in this performance. Truly, in its full glory!

Yours in music

Grant Cooper
Artistic Director and Conductor
West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Audience comments welcome! "Classical Mystery Tour"

Several patrons on Saturday night commented that they thought David Williams' review was a positive one; several others thought David didn't accurately capture the energy of the audience as part of his review. Not trying to review the reviewer, but blogs are great places for patrons to let us know what they thought of the group, the concert, the total experience!

What did you think? All of these "Imagine"-ation ideas we put forth in the description of the concert?

"The orchestra score is exact, right down to every note and instrument that was on the original recording. On 'Got to Get You Into My Life,' we have two tenor saxes and three trumpets. That's what it was written for, and that's what we use. And on 'A Day in the Life,' can you imagine that big orchestra crescendo happening live?"
"We have some real show-stopping numbers," says Owen. "I wish I could actually be in the audience to see and hear this show. The power of the emotional and nostalgic connection back to each of our individual experiences with The Beatles is hard to put into words."

Do you agree?

I enjoyed the generations that attended together and often commented to the school-aged students that they were fortunate that their parents (all closet rockers, I'm sure) had brought them to this concert to share in their musical history!

Tell us your Beatles stories! Many of our veteran patrons shared great stories with me before the concert each night...

Symphony of Ideas Broadcasts this weekend!

In case you missed the March 6-7 concerts featuring violinist Lindsey Deutsch and the WVSO, you'll want to turn up the surround-sound speakers and catch the Symphony of Ideas Broadcast on West Virginia Public Radio this Friday, April 10 at 1 p.m. or on Monday, April 13 at 9 p.m.

Let us know what you like about the broadcasts!

Clarinet Display at Gorby's on Saturday

In conjunction with clarinetist Larry Combs' visit to Charleston, Gorby's will host a special viewing of rare clarinets, clarinet mouthpieces, books, and doctoral papers on the clarinet from the private collection and research library of Gorby's music.

This event will follow the clarinet master class by Combs at WVSU campus, Davis Fine Arts Building from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 4.

Instruments on display:

• A reproduction of a Jacob Denner Baroque (ca.1700) clarinet in C in Turkish boxwood with four joints and two brass keys in A-415, made by Brian Ackerman in England.
• Very strange McIntyre system Bb clarinet
• An Albert system clarinet made by Albert.
• The Stubbins clarinet, made by Leblanc with an extra vent for the throat Bb.
• A soprano clarinet in Ab--very rare
• One of the ultra-fine German Oehler system clarinets as used to day in German symphony orchestras.
• Three soprano clarinets in Eb, D and C
• The "Atomic" clarinet plus many more clarinets and the world's rarest saxophone in the key of F with a low A key and range to high G.

For more details, call Gorby's Music, Inc. at (304) 744-9455.

Why take music appreciation in college?

I was fortunate to get to speak with a Music Appreciation Class at West Virginia State University on Thursday. I was asked to share information about the WV Symphony, some of the inner workings, kinds of concerts, etc.

I posed a question at the beginning of the class meeting: Why does your degree program require you to take a music appreciation class?

Well, one question leads to another--how important is music in your life? Much easier to get an answer to that one from the twenty-some twenty-year-olds who are in the class, most of whom entered the room with ear buds attached to the listening device of their choice.

I have challenged them to visit the blog and to comment. I challenge you to do the same. Did anybody out there have to take a music appreciation class? Has it benefited you?