Who is Phaedrus? He explores interior frontiers where we meet to discover possibilities of ourselves... He is in the shadows, in the sounds, in the strains of music filtering through, in the past and somewhere in a distant time to be...
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
YET ANOTHER RENAISSANCE...
Just when I thought that for me at eighty there were no more rebirths of imagination... no bursts of creativity, I am awaking to a new world and noticing the beautiful sounds, the beautiful moments that need to be stamped with the permanence of celebration by turning Time into an ally of preservation. We have the capacity to capture Time in the bottle of creation, transforming the moment into an enduring presence.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
KEITH PATCHEL'S NEW OPERA PREMIERES AT MEDICINE SHOW THEATRE
Keith Patchel's new opus, The Plain of Jars, based on a novel by the same name, premiered at The Medicine Show Theatre December 10th. This performance was a significant cultural event that should be noticed and honored, if only for the spectacular talent involved in the production that was created from scratch over a 12 day period. If Rossini remarked that it takes "about 21 days to make an opera," making this new work sets a new record. Patchel's work defies classification, as it might be described as a docudrama, musical play, or opera. Patchel's background as a film composer is evident as he has created a tapestry where the music flows without interruption, sometimes as the dominant feature and other times as commentary on the scenes of intrigue, exploring the motives of political characters and agents involved in the bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War.
The "Plain of Jars" is a garden-of-eden-like place in Laos that was life sustaining for Laotians, who led a simple, peaceful life until their homeland was used by the US to test new weapons and bombing strategies during the Vietnam War.
Besides the Laotians, the cast of characters includes JFK, played by Robert E. Turner, Nixon, portrayed by Timothy McCown Reynolds, LBJ acted by Jon L. Peacock, and Henry Kissinger, depicted by John Hayden. Patchel's treatment of the characters satirizes them in the light of their criminal and covert actions, with the exception of Kennedy regarded as the hope of change for the direction for the country. Turner's stately and passionate enactment of JFK provided a stark contrast to the political trio who plot the death of Kennedy. In addition to the rich diversity of these characters, two CIA cohorts (played by Sayaka Aiba and Clare Francesca) add to the scheming and deceit, playing a critical role in persuading the politicians to use the Vietnam War to test new weapons.
The Laotians are performed by Sayaka Aiba, Clare Francesca, Jialin Li, and Xi Yang, and their opening scene of the tranquility of the Laotian natives was serenely projected with their melodic lines interweaving and overlapping, shimmeringly mystical.
The scene shifts to the White House with JFK and the political trio in which the killing of Kennedy to prevent the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam establishes the symbolic presence of his spirit. Patchel's conception of having JFK portrayed an an African American is an inspired gesture and Robert E. Turner brings a sense of dignity and destiny to the role. It stands in stark contrast to a CIA-directed White House and State Department intent on using the "falling domino" theory as an excuse for the war.
The trio of conspirators, provided a bitingly satirical commentary, and each actor emerged sharply etched as a caricature deeply embedded in a personal grasp of the demeanor and rhetoric of politicians caught in the web of their own deceit. Timothy McCown Reynolds was brilliant in capturing the expressions and blustering mannerisms of Nixon. John Hayden's Kissinger was covertly evil in his quest for power and posterity, a stunning range of characterization. LBJ was indeed "with heavy heart" as possibly the most powerful and reckless of the trio, but traumatized by the enormity of his transgressions against America and Vietnam. Vietnam was a force that spiraled out of control and each response only made matters worse. Peacock's characterization was accurate, revealing a troubled LBJ who could not overcome his own tragic flaws.
There are two extraordinary scenes that seem to transcend the structure: a "Death Dance" danced by Robert Turner, Cantata Fan, and Sayaka Aiba, an eloquent gesture mourning the death of Laotians. This was a powerful moment, abstract but also immediate and irrevocable.
The concluding scene of the opera is the final aria of Gaia (Yang Xi), a powerful apotheosis of the Laotian pride whose survival in the world exacts a justice, a redemption for having endured the slaughter of innocence. The pride and purity of the Laotians remain untouched. The aria begins in the symbolic demise of Kissinger, Nixon and LBJ entombed in the giant Jars of the Plains. The music celebrates triumph of Laotians over evil. In many ways, the structure of the work is a series of climaxes, each surpassing the previous. Yang Xi's musical sensibility and strength of interpretive expression uses her remarkable voice to shape each nuance and climax demanded in this powerful and expressive aria.
Patchel's music unfolds as a continuous tapestry of sound embellished by live instruments performed by Kento Iwazaki (Koto), Cantata Fan (Pipa), Alan Gruber (violin), and the keyboard manned by the composer. Their presence as a substantive texture, provided an unfolding spontaneity.
Adding to the ambiance of the evening was the wonderful set created by Alexis Kandra, simple, but enriched with the nuance of an primeval space invaded by the technology of 20th Century war... the giant jars on the Plains ultimately serving to entomb Kissinger, Nixon, and Johnson, indicted for their crimes against humanity.
A highlight that must be noted is Clara Francesca's solo "This is the only war we've got..." Her performance was powerful, Brechtian, yet bitterly poignant, confirming the opera's pervasive tone as satire. Perhaps the strength of libretto is the tension between the gentle presence of the Laotians and the sharp, caustic satire enacted with such brilliant individuality by Reynolds, Peacock and Hayden.
The Plain of Jars theatrical premiere created an unforgettable quality for New York City on December 10, and 11 by bringing to our attention a regrettable and shameful time in American history. The opera focuses on the violence in Vietnam and the culpability of the United States. Even though video footage of the bombing and violence in Laos was included in scenes, the libretto did not explore the atmosphere in this country that was violent, explosive and cruel, with riots, demonstrations and killings of innocent protestors.
Patchel is to be commended on creating a work that reminds us that Time does not erase such moments, but elevates them to renewed significance as we discover new meaning ifrom events of the past.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
SEVEN FOR NINE ELEVEN
Songs of Sorrow,
Songs of Hope
Seven for Nine Eleven
I.
September morning---
Clear and calm …
Streaking, screaming jets
Collide with the crisp serenity,
Crushing the dreams of thousands
Of world citizens
In one prolonged
Agonizing instant---
Altering perceptions and events
In a tangle
Of terror,
Toppling towers,
And barbaric entombment
II.
All the fallen heroes
Rushing to rescue
Innocent victims of violence…
Trapped between their selfless bravery
And fanatic hatred
Focused on annihilation
Of all hope and happiness…
Gone in the momentous collapse
Of monuments and unsung miracles…
All the fallen heroes,
Mourned and remembered,
Forevermore.
III.
Bewildered with rage
And weeping,
We gather and huddle
In streets and parks,
Embracing strangers,
Posting our private grief
On walls and chain-link fences…
Coming together in the spirit
Of ourselves
As though this magnitude
Of love
Could stifle and smother
The animosity,
The atrocity,
That has befallen us.
IV.
Weep, world…
Many lost their lives today.
Weep for clashing cultures
Exploding on the world.
The eleventh of September
Collides with human destiny…
Ending all innocence
And immunity.
Weep, world,
Weep in sorrow…
Many lost their lives today…
Yet, beneath the smoldering debris,
A new spirit struggles to erupt.
V.
A fragile experiment,
Begun in a time
When humanity defied tyranny
And sought a sanctuary
Of liberty…
Once begun,
There was no assurance
It would survive…
Even now
Tyrants and barbarians
Threaten the frangible frame of freedom.
VI.
We will not die---
There is a gentle presence
That gathers strength
In our awareness---
Through all the adversity,
Through all the tears,
Through all that perished
On that frail September day,
We find the substance
Of ourselves
Embedded in all who have gone
Before us…
Grasping intangible threads
Binding us...
VII.
Celebrate the loved ones
We have lost…
Celebrate the right to sing
Of one another…
Cherish the links
Connecting us…
To dare to dream,
To seek to hope,
To make festivals
Of images and sounds
Leaping like magic
Across an electric consciousness
Like shooting stars
Across the cosmos
Confronting chaos
With the simple song of ourselves.
© Copyright John Gilbert, September 12, 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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