Review: Enjoyable Pairing From Eastern Opera

The Eastern Opera of New Jersey presented "Pagliacci," as part of a double bill with "Mark Twain and the General," a world premiere work by conductor/composer Robert Butts

On May 24, Eastern Opera of New Jersey presented Pagliacci, as part of a double bill with Mark Twain and the General, a world premiere work by conductor/composer Robert Butts. The piece is a fictionalized account of the collaboration between Ulysses S. Grant and Mark Twain involving Grant’s memoirs. Royalties from the book, a bestseller in its day, allowed Grant’s wife, Julia, to pay mounting debts from his battle with terminal cancer.

Although the two works might seem like an odd couple, they made an apt pairing. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera tells the story of a clown whose disastrous personal life leads him to commit a double-murder during a performance. The Butts piece shows a celebrated war hero and former president stripped of his laurels, in dire financial straits and declining health. Both explore the tension between the public and private lives of individuals in the limelight. Together, they made an enjoyable evening at the theater.

Eastern Opera of New Jersey dedicates itself to the growth of young singers and the formation of new audiences. Each season, the company performs a mix of concerts and fully staged operas. Some of the events not only benefit singers by giving them professional experience, but, through performances at assisted living facilities and local schools, help bring opera to a wider audience. As was the case here, guest lecturers at the performances further that mission by helping audiences understand what they are about to hear.

There was much to like about Butts’s work. Grant, played by Don Shealey, had music full of tension and the melancholy of faded grandeur. Shealey’s performance displayed all those characteristics to great effect. The slightly macabre variation on “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was a standout. However, the other characters, most notably Julia Grant, played by Karole Lewis, and even Mark Twain, played by Brian Jamieson, seemed underdeveloped.

Considering that Twain shares the title with Grant, he seemed more like a cipher than a character. What should have been the focal point of the opera—the partnership that produced the book—was diminished. Instead, Butts gave all the drama to Grant. As a result, a dramatic monologue set to music might have been more effective. Lewis has a poignant top register, but the orchestra overpowered her and the same could be said about Jamieson. Just the same, it was fitting to present an opera about an aging American hero in Bound Brook’s historic Brook Theater, with its classical architecture.

The second performance had both highs and lows. In order to perform Pagliacci, singers need to express volatility. Tenor Peter Lewis, in the lead as Canio, achieved a wonderfully unstable portrayal of his character. Unfortunately, Dmitri Zigrino as the villainous Tonio was one-dimensional. Justyna Giermola made a youthful and sprightly Nedda, even if she, like most of the cast, was at times difficult to hear. In the small but crucial role of Silvio, Nedda’s lover, Jason Adamo sang well but took a while to warm up. Butts had a hand here, too, giving a passionate reading of Leoncavallo’s score.

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