Good Singing, and a Few Cliches

The Metropolitan Opera gave a premiere on Friday night, of a work it commissioned: “An American Tragedy,” by Tobias Picker. This opera is probably not destined to enter any canon, but it is competent, not uninteresting, and worthy of consideration.Mr. Picker, a New Yorker, is especially known for his vocal music. He has composed several operas, including “Emmeline” (1996) and “Therese Raquin” (2000). He was smart to seize the novel by Theodore Dreiser, “An American Tragedy,” which has opera written all over it. Of course, the other big Dreiser novel, “Sister Carrie,” has opera written all over it, too. Perhaps Mr. Picker – or some other composer – will get to that one in the future.Dreiser based his “American Tragedy” on a real-life murder case: In upstate New York, a man killed his pregnant girlfriend when he had a chance to marry a fancier dame. Of course, in the Dreiser worldview, American society – vicious, grasping – drove him to it. This was not the choice of one, wicked man. It was an “American tragedy,” a tale that indicts us all.Gosh, people love this.For Mr. Picker’s opera, Dreiser’s long novel has been reduced to a skillful libretto by Gene Scheer. All the proper elements are here: Virtually every religious person is ridiculous, and virtually every prosperous person is ridiculous. Hymns are made to sound sinister. Morgans, Vanderbilts, and Mellons walk around in top hats, chortling about shafting the workingman. Hotel maids fondle mink stoles and dream.You get the picture.Mr. Picker’s opera is in two acts – preceded by a prologue – and each act involves many scenes (seven in the case of the first one, eight in the case of the second). The score is, above all, changeable. It is almost Ivesian in its flexibility, and borrowings. The music is now Romantic, now atonal, now something in between. It is nervous and squirmy; then rhapsodic and anthemic. We sometimes have a feeling of pastiche.Many forms of American music make an appearance, and are blended. I was reminded of another Met commission, from 1999: John Harbison’s “Great Gatsby.” I was also reminded of William Bolcom’s “View from a Bridge.” I was reminded of many other American operas as well. Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about a school.“An American Tragedy” has several fine moments: When the protagonist, Clyde Griffiths, starts his first managerial job, his music is jazzy, optimistic, pleased. A quartet is intricate and beautiful. Act I concludes with the scene in which Roberta, Clyde’s girlfriend, confides that she is pregnant. This has an admirable tension. “Just do what’s right!” she implores him. Fat chance.Act II opens with a touching aria for Roberta, reading through some letters she has written to Clyde. Is this aria effective because the words and situation are devastating – which they are – or because the music is good? Does it matter? And Clyde’s mother, Elvira, is given an aria of considerable, maternal power.Yet some moments are too obvious – too cliched – to work as Mr. Picker wants. Take the suspense leading up to Roberta’s demise: It is conveyed by means of repeated bass notes. I feel sure this composer can do better. More broadly, this opera suffers from stretches of dullness, or ordinariness. True, it has an energy commonly identified as “American.” But that, manifestly, is no guarantee against dullness.It is risky to predict the future of a new work. But I suspect that opera companies will want “An American Tragedy,” for a few reasons. The story is compelling (to many). Singers will like, and seek, the opera’s set pieces. The score is “accessible.” And many elites just love an “indictment of America,” a work that reveals the “American underside.” (If you want to see the overside, tough luck!) Dreiser is ever popular with those who imagine an “American class system.”This production is the responsibility of Francesca Zambello, and it is a characteristically smart, persuasive production. The set (designed by Adrianne Lobel) has three tiers, each with sliding panels. Photography is used interestingly. Lighting (James F. Ingalls) is notably good.Was there any singing in this show? Indeed – the cast included several of the finest American singers working. The baritone Nathan Gunn was the protagonist, Clyde, and he was earnest and likable, as usual. (Likable for a lying murderer.) He can float a sweet little head voice. And he showed stamina in a long role. Also, production teams like to have him take his shirt off. He duly does so here.Roberta was the soprano Patricia Racette, and she contributed her usual direct and intelligent singing. She betrayed a tonal harshness, however, I had never heard before. The mezzo-soprano Susan Graham was the “other woman,” Sondra, and she provided her customary excellence. But she must be careful – especially at this point in her career – not to force.Another mezzo-soprano, Dolora Zajick, was Elvira, Clyde’s mother. We should note that her voice is not only huge, but gorgeous. And in the upper register, it can be lovely – “lovely” not being a word normally employed about this extraordinary, Verdian voice. And Ms. Zajick can be expected to sing with musical and theatrical understanding.The tenor Kim Begley (Samuel Griffiths, Clyde’s uncle) was robust and confident; some straining up top was understandable. A second tenor, William Burden (Gilbert Griffiths, Clyde’s cousin), was similarly robust and confident, although not as fresh as he can be. The mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore was just right as Elizabeth Griffiths, Clyde’s aunt: scalding, detestable, absurd. She was a parody of a wealthy harridan. In “An American Tragedy,” a cartoon Marxism is the order of the day.The bass-baritone Richard Bernstein was solid, if imperfect, as the District Attorney. The soprano Anna Christy was Hortense, the hotel maid: slightly wobbly and strident, but clear and effective. And the soprano Jennifer Aylmer made a nice Met debut as Bella Griffiths (another cousin of Clyde’s). She was sweet, ingenuous, and appealing.From the Met orchestra, there were more glitches than usual, but those will diminish as this run continues. James Conlon conducted, ably. And another American opera – one among a squillion recent ones, no matter what the death-of-classical-music crowd tries to tell you – was launched.“An American Tragedy” will be performed again on December 5, 8, 12, 16, 21, 24 & 28 at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center, 212-362-6000).

Good Singing, and a Few Cliches

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