This weekend at Harvard’s Agassiz Theater Intermezzo and the Juventas New Music Ensemble brought James Yannatos’ revised version of Rocket’s Red Blare to the stage for the first time.
The plot, in the style of opera buffa, tells of a prince in love with a peasant girl. Their love is frowned upon by the king and queen, and the subjects of the kingdom become uneasy. The king banishes his son. In an attempt to demonstrate his dominance, the king hires two scientists to build him a rocket. His plan is to strap his son to the rocket (remember this is opera buffa) and destroy his foreign, nonconformist foes. Despite the pleas from his Jester, the king goes forward with his plan only to realize that he has been duped. There are no rockets; the situation is resolved with the revelation that happiness cannot be forced.
Unfortunately the theater did not provide any form of subtitles, supertitles, or libretto, so much of the substance of the opera was lost. Although the plot was silly enough, there could have been exceptional wit within the text that the audience missed out on. The slapstick element of the comedy was all the audience could really laugh at, as they were otherwise too concentrated on understanding the words and attempting to follow the story. That being said, vocally, the singers were exceptional, even if their interpretations and humor could not be fully appreciated.
The lovers, played by Natalie Polito and Gregory Zavracky, made a sweet and harmonious duo. Polito particularly had an exquisitely plush voice. David Kravitz and D’Anna Fortunato made another balanced duo, in terms of both the balancing of voices and characters. Fortunato played the contentious queen while Kravitz foiled her perfectly as the naïve, goofy king. In terms of clarity, Kravitz’s booming baritone voice took the prize. His voice filled the theater effortlessly and his articulation was impeccable. The clear articulation of Kravitz and Charles Blandy, in the role of the Jester, was what really help the audience to the plot, as there were many ensemble and choral scenes were hardly a word could be discerned.
Musically, Rocket’s Red Blare, was very much in a modern style. Without any real “arias,” the opera was primarily comprised of ensemble pieces and recitative. Many of scenes involving the chorus, especially towards the beginning of Act I, such as during the reprimand of the lovers, their passages were exceptionally intriguing and eerie. Unfortunately, it was the most interesting music that was the hardest to understand in this small production.
With no arias, and therefore limited breaks for the orchestra and singers, conductor, Edward Jones, did an exceptional job of keeping everyone in time during this virtually continual piece. With the addition of supertitles, perhaps this comic opera could have fared better. It was still, however, an enjoyable performance and an excellent effort on the part of the cast, all of whom sang exquisitely and tastefully.
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