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| Lisa Marie Rogali in the rose blossom | Photo credit: Owen Carey |
One would hope that in an age that is far, far removed from the time of fairy tales, that an opera based on a fairytale can still resonate. Using a combination of poetic language and lush music, David Hertzberg’s “The Rose Elf,” presented by OrpheusPDX at Lincoln Performance Hall (August 17) retold one of Hans Christian Andersen’s lesser-known stories in which an elf is confronted with the heightened emotions and awfulness of the human world but learns to have empathy.
Even with a slightly different ending from the original tale, Hertzberg’s music and libretto (he wrote both) gave “The Rose Elf” a magical quality that was enhanced by the stage direction of Jerry Mouawad. Well-known as the co-artistic director of Imago Theatre, Mouawad has expanded his director chops into the world of opera over the last several years. The OrpheusPDX production of “The Rose Elf” showed off his imaginative storytelling skill, which were highlighted by an evocative set design created by Alex Meyer, Sumi Wu, and Mouawad with costumes by Sumi Wu, and lighting by Solomon Weisbard.
In this story, the Elf lives in an idyllic world, flitting around a garden and resting in the lushness of a rose bush. But that world is disturbed when the rose is plucked and given to by the Girl to her beau (the Beloved). His beating heart throws the Elf into a tizzy. But things worsen when the Beloved is murdered by the girl’s brother and then decapitates him. The Elf tells the girl where her beau is buried. She digs up the severed head of the Beloved and places it in a flowerpot. Obsessed with the flowerpot, she is stricken with grief, and dies. The Brother is left to ponder what he had wrought.
To frame the story, Hertzberg begins with a Prelude in which the Girl is costumed as the Roman goddess Luna and the Beloved as the Egyptian god Horus. For the Epilogue, they return in the afterlife, but they do not touch or give an indication affection other than to sing a duetted “Ah.” Meanwhile, the Brother kneels by the pot, and the Elf settles to sleep inside the rose blossom. It’s an unsettling and odd ending that differs from Andersen’s original story in which the Elf tells the bees, who intend to sting the wicked Brother to death the next morning but discover him already dead by the time they arrive.
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| Rogali and Madeline Ross | Photo credit: Owen Carey |
Mezzo soprano Lisa Marie Rogali wonderfully evoked the otherworldly nature of the Elf with her superb vocal agility and with periodic twitchy gestures. She radiated warmth when the Elf was in its happy place, nestled within the petals of the rose blossom. Soprano Madeline Ross embodied the love and the anguish of the Girl, which meshed well with the upright and firm persona of the Beloved as conveyed by tenor Brendon Tuohy. Clad in a dark trench coat hat, Zachary Lenox created the dark and forbidding role of the Brother effectively with his brief time onstage.
Deanna Tham, who is the Associate Conductor of the Oregon Symphony, outstandingly led a chamber orchestra that consisted for nine instruments, yet often sounded much larger. The music was slightly dissonant and effectively painted the text. Tinkling bells, for example accompanied the Elf now and then. Passionate scenes were expressed with swelling tones. Reflective moments were quieter. Several well-placed pauses between the accusations flung by the Brother against the Girl added an ominous quality that was palpable.
Especially skillful was the use of shadowy silhouettes (behind the scrim at the back) and the huge pink rose blossom that could open and close. It had a star power all its own. The entire opera took just a bit over an hour, making it very compact for today’s audiences, but the emotional impact of the story lost some traction as it transitioned to the afterlife, despite the terrific music, acting, and colorful scenery. The Egyptian/Roman deities seemed a bit too incongruous with the Elf and other characters.
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| Photo credit: Owen Carey |
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