Woman composer opens Metropolitan Opera season
OperaMuch fuss is being made around Jeanine Tessori’s ‘Grounded’ which launched the Met’s season with a gala premiere last night, the first woman composer to occupy the first-night slot.
The opera is a cut-down version of the work that had a run of six performances at the Kennedy Center a year ago.
About 45 minutes have been cut and ten minutes of new music added. Music director Yannick was unsure of the changes: “I was kind of defending the composer as we would do today if Verdi was alive or Donizetti: ‘The music is perfect as it is. Let’s not cut,’” Nézet-Séguin said. “It was fascinating to see that the composer herself was more like: `No, this needs to be cut because it’s detracting from what I want in the story line.’”
Fellow-Canadian Emily D’Angelo sang the title role.
Reviews to follow.
Is this the best the Met can do for opening night?
Apparently.
But at least it was tested, in Washington, before the full resouces of the Met were thrown behind it. The big houses should never be incubators.
This composer used to write musicals: Violet (1997), a hit; The First Picture Show (1999), a flop; and Shrek the Musical (2008).
Then somehow she mastered opera: Blue (2019) and now Gounded (2023).
You left out her most critically acclaimed works in musical theater: Caroline, or Change (Drama Desk award for outstanding music), Fun Home (Tony for original score), and Kimberly Akimbo (Tony for original score). Thoroughly Modern Millie also received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. In addition to working with Tony Kushner on Caroline, or Change, they wrote an opera together which premiered in 2011 at Glimmerglass, and another of her operas was produced by Washington National Opera in 2013. She’s composed incidental music for several productions with The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park. She also has arranged music for several Broadway reviews and revivals.
She hasn’t ‘somehow mastered opera,’ she’s talented and been composing in opera and adjacent genres for her entire career.
Mastered?
Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cnKr2Ejw1U
As far as I’m concerned, the music sounds as meant for simpletons, not expressive but illustrative, and a production needs its success from staging, plot, singers.
Probably it is very nice for many people.
Thanks for the link. It is not possible to judge from such a short extract, the whole picture is needed. However, to me the extract sounds as if Andrew Lloyd Webber took Peter Grimes as basis.
Yes, and did not make a good use of it.
Regardless of the music itself, it’s good to see D’Angelo’s career progressing.
Never heard of this lady before. But you lost me with your opening phrase, which is not one I care to see associated with the season opening of one of the world’s premier opera houses. Their regard should be first and foremost on “the music itself.”
I saw the Washington production, and in my memory the music is overwhelmed by the razzle-dazzle effects.
I give it a praise! With these new ones, I hope Met won’t do the Regietheater productions on the classical repertoire as they did on Carmen.
I watched that trailer, because I had to dry my nails, and I think women should not write those opera things the way men do. All that soldier stuff and fighting and men around, that is boy scout things, imitation man world. We should do it more romantically, more fluffy, and something with animals, and with a bit of fun woven into it. I could do it, if I had some free time!
Sally
I think this opera should have been grounded. Indeed, any work from this talentless woke hack should be grounded.
As for the brainless music director, he needs a to be schooled on what good music is.
Going to the opera now is like being trapped in a screen saver.
Yawnick once again proving his worth.
Total trash composition that will have a few performances…. everyone will speak of its great impact, and it will land on a library shelf never to be performed again. Thankfully.