At a time when daily life has taken on the monotony of Groundhog Day, and anticipation of the COVID vaccine is a global fixation, Opera Atelier is offering an unexpected and welcome balm.
Something Rich & Strange, a sumptuous world-premiere production, will stream on Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 7 pm.
Revered Ottawa-based soprano Mireille Asselin is part of the show’s acclaimed Canadian ensemble, which includes her husband, tenor Christopher Enns. She relates how Something Rich & Strange was born out of the “necessity of reinvention” caused by the pandemic. Opera Atelier’s stage production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute had to be cancelled, so the company dreamed up a more flexible show that would allow “bubbled” artists to work together in different scenes. Rather than one narrative storyline, Something Rich and Strange is a series of vignettes. Each can stand on its own, and the involvement of the artists with one another can be controlled carefully. Since Asselin could work with her husband, the creative team staged them together in scenes where, in a standard opera production, they would not normally interact. The opportunity to work with her husband as scene partners is “always a privilege” – and even more so now: “He’s an inspiring colleague to have in the room, although I suppose I am a little biased!”
In 2020, artists worldwide have felt the stifling impact of isolation on the collaborative aspect of their art. For Asselin, the shutdown brought home how just much she is a live, acoustic performer. It stung that for the first four months of the pandemic, she did not sing a note. But as a person who “always needs a project”, she used the shutdown to pursue coursework through U of T toward a Certificate in Biomedical Sciences. She already has degrees from Yale School of Music and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company’s prestigious Ensemble Studio. She has performed on some of the world’s most famed stages, including the Royal Opera of Versailles in Paris and The Metropolitan Opera in New York. But biochemistry, it turns out, “is hard!”
In terms of music, she is gradually reacquainting herself with the discipline of practice, the joy of learning a piece of music for its own sake – and the importance of stretching and breathing and thinking creatively. She smiles wistfully, “You know what’s the best? Singing in a room with lots of other people playing their hearts out. You know what’s the worst? Recording isolated tracks on my iPhone in my living room in front of a blank wall.” Thus, she has felt fortunate to do close scene work with Enns, because at least that part of the process feels “somewhat normal … or as normal as rehearsing in singer masks can be!”
Asselin and Enns were bubbled with a third cast member, soprano Cynthia Smithers, so the three could stage and work together freely. “I can’t overstate how much the people in our industry are grieving, not just for the loss of income and productivity during Covid, but also the magic that happens between colleagues during music and stage rehearsals,” Asselin stresses, reiterating how grateful all three artists were to make music together this year, however fleetingly. “That kind of live, in-person creation just can’t be replicated over Zoom, and we are all just dying for the chance to safely make music in a room together once more.”
Something Rich and Strange was originally set to premiere in late September, but was postponed due to provincial COVID-19 regulations. The show was inspired by a line in Ariel’s song in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which hints optimistically at a “sea change” that will bring about a brave new world. In keeping with this spirit of ephemeral wonder and magic, Something Rich and Strange features Baroque arias and dances that explore the themes of sleep, visions and dreams. It includes theatre music by Handel, Lully, Locke and Purcell. And since the show weaves together excerpts from different operas and composers, Asselin does not perform one set character: “There is just me, experiencing this kind of musical, hallucinatory journey through song, including some of my very favourite music in this show: ‘O Sleep’ from Handel’s Semele, ‘Music for a While’ and ‘The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation’ by Purcell.” One moment Asselin wakes from a dream to find her lover asleep next to her, and worries about what she will do when he dies. The next moment, she is the Virgin Mary who has lost her young son in a crowd and questions her faith in God. And in the next, she is a mermaid luring men to their doom at the bottom of the sea. “It’s a wild, weird, rich and strange experience!” she laughs.
In addition to these pieces, the show will debut a new composition by Canadian violinist/composer Edwin Huizinga for soprano Measha Brueggergosman. The piece is based on Rainer Maria Rilke’s Symbolist poem “Annunciation”, for which Opera Atelier commissioned a new English translation by American author and playwright Grace Andreacchi. The ensemble includes tenor Colin Ainsworth and mezzo-soprano Danielle MacMillan, and features the full corps of Artists of Atelier Ballet with choreography by Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, with additional contemporary dance choreography by Tyler Gledhill; stage direction by Marshall Pynkoski; and musicians from Tafelmusik led by Music Director Elisa Citterio, and conducted by Opera Atelier’s Resident Music Director David Fallis. The production is performed against a projected backdrop of paintings created for this production by Resident Set Designer Gerard Gauci. The fully-staged production was filmed at Koerner Hall in late October.
Asselin still marvels at the tenacity and ingenuity of the production team. Every single member “deserves a huge Gold Star”: “They worked tirelessly, day and night, for months to make the process as safe as possible for us.” That meant enlisting an Infection Control specialist to consult on all the protocols; hiring an in-rehearsal nurse to do screenings; deploying yards of plexiglass, special custom-made masks, and air purifiers in every room; and constant liaising with government officials to react appropriately whenever new guidelines and health regulations were put into place. “What was originally supposed to be a livestreamed performance turned into essentially a music video: the audio had to be pre-recorded, and the stage performances were filmed afterwards, since we couldn’t have the orchestra with us in the room.” The final product is the overlaying of the two: a carefully recorded and controlled event that is “definitely a different kind of approach than what we’re used to in live theatre!”
For any first-time opera goers tuning in, especially young people, Asselin recommends paying attention to the sounds in the production. “Close your eyes sometimes and just listen… What kinds of voices do you like best? What instruments in the orchestra do you think sound beautiful? What does the music say to you? Now look at the dancers. How would you choose to dance or move to what you hear?”
One thing all audiences can count on is that Opera Atelier’s productions are always a splendid feast for both eyes and ears. With that said, Asselin likes to remind viewers that a lot of what they will see on screen is inspired by the way people would perform opera and dance centuries ago, when these pieces were first written. “There’s a lot of beauty in that,” she affirms, “but the whole point of art of any kind is that it should help you feel stuff, lead you to form your own tastes and opinions, and encourage your own creativity!”
In this deepening winter of our discontent, Something Rich and Strange – emotive and uplifting, timeless and yet of this moment – offers a welcome balm, indeed. The vaccine will come eventually. In the meantime, we can feel.
© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2020
