The opera had barely started, and Alice B. Toklas was already pouring me some tea.
It might require suspending some disbelief, but imagine the Pittsburgh Opera headquarters transformed into Gertrude Stein and Toklas’ Parisian space. That space is the subject of Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera “27,” which received an imaginative staging by the company’s resident artists on Tuesday night.
The production marks Pittsburgh Opera’s third Second Stage Project, which brings a contemporary opera to the Strip District headquarters each season. The lean productions allow the company’s resident artists to give some of the first performances of new works. In the case of “27,” which premiered in 2014, Pittsburgh Opera is offering just the second production.
Mr. Gordon, who studied at Carnegie Mellon University, was less interested in Stein’s dense writings than in the world she and her partner Toklas created in Paris, surrounded by artists and writers of various stripes. In just an hour and a half, Royce Vavrek’s inventive five-act libretto loosely chronicled the couple’s life together, spanning the years before and after the two world wars.
The libretto realized the universe of the salon with five performers — two represented Stein (mezzo-soprano Laurel Semerdjian) and Toklas (soprano Adelaide Boedecker), and three others (tenor Adam Bonanni, bass-baritone Matthew Scollin and baritone Brian Vu) took on various roles, from anthropomorphized paintings to salon guests such as Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. In the fourth act, the singing art became Stein’s conscience, questioning how a Jewish, openly gay writer was able to survive in Vichy France. Mr. Gordon’s transparent, mellifluous score evoked the musical language of jazz, foxtrot and musical theater, and repeated memorable motifs to great effect.
In the program notes, stage director Jennifer Williams described her vision of immersive theater, “a style of theatrical storytelling in which the audience is fully included in the world of the opera from the moment you enter the building” — hence, the tea cups. (It’s worth noting that the company had reserved that seat for me, although other audience members joined the fun, too.) Originally scored for orchestra, this version used two pianos (Karen Jeng and James Lesniak) that felt appropriate for the salon atmosphere. Ms. Williams’ production and Julia Noulin-Merat’s set did a lot with a little: a colorfully painted sheet served as the floor of the salon; large empty picture frames came to life, while other paintings covered the wall.
Overall, the resident artists delivered this unfamiliar (if highly singable) score with verve and strong dramatic sensibility. While the singing was inconsistent, there were several bright spots. Ms. Semerdjian’s voice had a natural, smooth quality that was full-bodied in long phrases. Ms. Boedecker’s voice could be shrill, but she also delivered a glimmering vibrato. Singing together, they conveyed the characters’ love with affecting duets and persuasive acting.
The ensemble singing of the three men, which functioned as a mini-chorus of sorts, was a highlight. Mr. Vu, who depicted Leo Stein, among others, had a gold-laced vibrato. While playing Hemingway, who was on the wrong end of a Stein insult, Mr. Scollin offered a neat marriage of text and words: His sinister articulation and marbled tone portrayed the depth of his character’s disgust with Stein. Mr. Bonanni’s voice sounded overexerted, as if he was relying on the principal rather than the interest of his instrument. In the small space, all of the singers could have explored the lower end of the dynamic range.
Performances repeat at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1750. Twitter: @BloomPG.
First Published: February 25, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
