The purpose of the Arts is to push society to evolve into a more creative and open society, while always striving to challenge boundaries. That is why the Arts are supported as non-profit organizations, and why other countries pour large amounts of public funds into them. This is a purpose that often goes unfulfilled within classical music as most orchestras and operas stick to programming works that hold no real societal significance. Sure they are beautiful, and entertaining, and make us more “cultured.” But programming the works of dead, european, males over and over again does nothing to push the boundaries of our society. Luckily, General Director Darren Woods and the Fort Worth Opera Company has committed their festival year-after-year to performing new and challenging works. The Fort Worth Opera Festival brings audiences in Cowtown works that patrons of “bigger” opera companies in bigger markets rarely get to see or experience. And best of all, they do it no matter what opera snobs (or purists as they like to call themselves) might say. And when your new music productions are sold out weeks in advance and people are begging for tickets, not only do you know you’re doing something right, you know you don’t have to listen to what anyone else is telling you.
Walking into the Sanders Theatre, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard about the intimacy of the performance in reviews, if you haven’t experienced it (which I hadn’t), you are not going to be prepared. You are immersed into the performance even before it begins as half of the audience has to walk across the opening set to get to their seats. And for such an avant-garde performance like Hydrogen Jukebox, the Sanders Theatre was the absolute perfect setting. Even with different choreography, I’m not sure the opera would work in a space like Bass Hall. It led to an experience from the moment you sat down, and the pre-performance buzz of the audience along with the instrumentalists warming up almost made you feel like you were a part of a John Cage performance. It was a great way to setup what was to come.
From the moment the performance began, I knew I was in for an unforgettable experience. Baritone Dan Kempson immediately commanded your attention when he sang the opening line “Lightning’s blue glare fills Oklahoma plains...” and revealed that though this might be an avant-garde performance with music and plot unlike typical operas, the Fort Worth Opera Company was not giving it to lesser voices. He was an absolutely thrilling baritone, and had power and ability well beyond his years. And thankfully, he was not the exception, for as soon as he dropped the lead, soprano Rosa Betancourt took over and simply bowled the audience over with her sound. Ms. Betancourt just might have been the best soprano in the entire festival. She was that unbelievably good. Mezzo-soprano Amanda Robie also showed off her chops and showed her versatility as she also performs the role of Pitti-Sing in The Mikado. But perhaps most impressive of all of the singers was Justin Hopkins (bass). Not only did he have a deep, resonating singing voice, but he practically brought down the house with his spoken narration right before intermission. In fact, the cast of Hydrogen Jukebox might have been the most complete cast vocally of all the 2011 festival performances. There wasn’t a weak singer in the bunch, and it makes sense as they are so vulnerably open in front of the audience without a chorus or orchestra to back them up. And when they sung together, especially when they were a capella, the Sanders Theater audience was treated to true vocal majesty. The hauntingly beautiful song setting of Ginsberg’s “Everybody’s Fantasy” from Nagasaki Days sent chills down my spine and was an experience I will not soon forget. It was easily one of the highlights of this year’s festival.
And as talented as the six performers might be, they were not the only reason Hydrogen Jukebox has been called a must-see production. It was a truly multi-sensory event. The video projections (C. Andrew Bauer) not only helped to guide the songs, but added an element that revealed the soundtrack of much of Glass’ music. And creating footage with the actual performers was an added touch that sent it all over the top. And one cannot say enough about the choreographers (Lawrence Edelson and Keturah Stikann) in this. Not only was the space of the theater exploited to bring out the stories, the use of the ladders as cars, airplanes and more was well-performed and ingenious.
To say that producing an opera like Hydrogen Jukebox deep in the heart of Texas takes a risk, is a gross understatement. After all, Fort Worth is a town with more than a few companies that are a part of the military industrial complex Ginsberg derides. And to produce an opera featuring anti-George Bush (Sr.) poetry in Texas, you have to have some serious moxie. But the Fort Worth Opera Company has proven again and again, that it has the daring to take on controversial subject matter in order to produce opera that is relevant to today’s audiences. Hydrogen Jukebox not only pushed the musical boundaries of the North Texas audience, it gave moments that had more than a couple of people squirming in their seat. If audience members that walked out of Bass Hall after some suggestive dancing during last year’s premiere of Before Night Falls thought they were sending a message about taking on today’s civil rights issues, they will be sorely disappointed to know that it was a message (thankfully) not-received. The Fort Worth Opera Company’s performance of Hydrogen Jukebox once again proved that opera is alive and relevant to contemporary audiences.
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