Brokeback Mountain (Opera)
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| Title: | Brokeback Mountain |
| Shape: | Opera in two acts |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Charles Wuorinen |
| Libretto : | Annie Proulx |
| Literary source: | Annie Proulx: Brokeback Mountain |
| Premiere: | January 28, 2014 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatro Real Madrid |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Wyoming and Texas , 1963 to 1983 |
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Brokeback Mountain is a two- act opera by Charles Wuorinen (music) with a libretto by Annie Proulx based on her short story of the same name. The opera premiered on January 28, 2014 at the Teatro Real Madrid.
action
first act
Scene 1: "1963, Aguirre's trailer". Aguirre hires the two young men Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist as seasonal workers to tend his sheep in the mountains during the summer. There are strict rules: Ennis has to guard the main tent. He is allowed to maintain a small fire. Jack, on the other hand, has to stay with the sheep in the high tent and not make a fire there. He is supposed to kill all predators that could be dangerous to the sheep. Alcohol, women and fighting are both prohibited, as are trips to the city.
Scene 2: “Bar, Old Longhorn”. Since they still have time, Ennis and Jack go to the nearest bar, where they introduce themselves. Both are from Wyoming . Jack's parents own a farm. Ennis's were killed in a car accident. He was raised by his sister and started working early. Jack was exempted from military service because of his knee problems. He's in financial trouble. Ennis took the job to save up for marrying his fiancée Alma and maybe later build his own ranch. The bartender advises them to bring enough whiskey to camp, otherwise the loneliness there could drive you crazy. They should ignore Aguirre's ban on alcohol.
Scene 3: "On the mountain". Two weeks later the two are having dinner on Brokeback Mountain in the main camp. Ennis made canned spaghetti again. Jack saw a wolf or coyote upstairs and shot twice, but missed it. The loneliness is already noticeable. Jack hates his little high tent. They drink whiskey.
Scene 4: "Main tent, four days later". Ennis burned the toast. Jack still hasn't managed to kill the wolf, which has already killed two sheep. Ennis suggests switching roles. He doesn't mind spending the night upstairs, and Jack sure can't cook any worse than him.
Scene 5: “Main tent, sunset the next day”. Ennis has already killed the predator. As he had suspected, it was a large coyote, not a wolf. Jack hands him whiskey to celebrate. They smoke and cook potatoes. Jack talks about his childhood dream of becoming a great bull rider. Even then he could see Brokeback Mountain in the distance from the window. His father often beat him up as a child until he was big enough to fight back. A falcon reminds the two of the feeling of freedom they now have. They keep drinking, but the potatoes burn in the fire. Ennis is too drunk to go back upstairs now. Jack invites him to spend the night in his tent. Ennis tries first to sleep outside by the fire, but the cold doesn't let him rest. He accepts Jack's renewed invitation to the tent, where they spend the night together.
Scene 6: “Main tent, the next morning”. Jack and Ennis are confused about their feelings. Although it seemed right to them, they both insist not to be gay. Ennis plans to continue to have a family and children with Alma.
Scene 7: “Clothes shop”. Alma and her mother choose the wedding dress. She insists on an expensive dress that will require all of her savings. She admits she has a disagreement with Ennis. While he dreams of having his own ranch and a life as a horse breeder, she would rather move to town.
Scene 8: "Lower main tent, twilight". The two men embrace without realizing that Aguirre is watching them from afar. By now they have developed strong feelings for each other that especially horrify Ennis. Aguirre appears and accuses them of neglecting their duties. One of them has to go back to the sheep immediately. Tomorrow the downforce will begin, and then her work on the mountain will be done. He rides away. When Ennis wants to make his way upstairs, Jack tells him to spend the last night with him. Both go into the tent.
Scene 9: "The next morning, first light". Jack and Ennis sadly say goodbye to each other to return to their old life. Ennis still refuses to admit his disposition, although Jack is sure of his feelings. There is a short fight in which Jack is slightly injured and both shirts are stained with blood. They make up quickly. Ennis is getting married and Jack is going back to the rodeo.
Scene 10: "Farm Equipment Showroom, Texas". Jack has also met a woman: Lureen, the daughter of rodeo leader Hogboy. Your father doesn't think much of Jack. He wants to give him a job, but she just shouldn't get the idea of marrying him.
Scene 11: "1967, the interior of Alma and Ennis' apartment in Riverton ". Ennis and Alma live in town with two young daughters. She is dissatisfied with his work on the ranch, where he constantly gets into tussles with his colleagues. A letter from Jack arrives - the first sign of life from him in a long time. Ennis excitedly reads that his friend wants to visit him next week on his way to the next rodeo.
Second act
Scene 1: "1967, Del Mars apartment". When Jack arrives, he and Ennis leave together at once. Ennis says he probably won't be home tonight. Alma is left disappointed. She had hoped to become part of their friendship.
Scene 2: "Motel Siesta". Jack and Ennis have taken a room in the motel, talk about their lives and remember the time they spent together on Brokeback Mountain, which changed them. You decide to take a few days off and go to the mountains. They want to repeat that a few times a year.
Scene 3: "Six or seven years later, Del Mars apartment". Since the money Ennis makes on the ranch is barely enough, Alma challenges him to take a job at her boss Bill Jones' shop. However, this is not for Jack, who loves his work with animals. Alma complains that he so often leaves her alone to go fishing with his friend. She longs for another life. Ennis regrets that things are like this, but can't help it.
Scene 4: "Farm Equipment Showroom, Texas". Jack and Lureen are married and have a young son, but the marriage doesn't work out well. After her father died, Lureen took over the shop while Jack continued to ride rodeos. However, he is now too old for this job. Lureen wants him to work in the store. Since he's gone so often, she suspects he has a lover. Jack goes away and she goes to sleep. In the dream she receives a visit from the spirit of her father who promises her help. He has already made some contacts "here".
Scene 5: "Del Mars Apartment". Ennis continues to dream of having his own ranch. Alma doesn't want to know about that. She has since entered into a relationship with Bill Jones and is demanding a divorce. Ennis immediately agrees and promises to continue to support her and the children. While she is packing her things, he calls Jack to tell him the news. He immediately goes to see his friend and suggests taking over a ranch together. However, Ennis has concerns. In his youth he knew two old men, Earl and Rich, who did just that and were mocked by the neighbors for it. Earl was brutally murdered. Ennis suspects that his father was involved in the crime by forcing him to look at the battered victim. He doesn't want to end like this.
Scene 6: "Thanksgiving, Alma and Bill's dining room and kitchen". Ennis is late to dinner with the family. As he helps Alma with the dishes, a poorly chosen word leads to an argument between the two. Alma doubts his honesty about the alleged fishing trips as the fishing rod does not appear to have even been used. Bill separates the two and Ennis leaves the house furious.
Scene 7: "1983, in the mountains, late afternoon". Ten years have passed. Jack and Ennis meet again at Brokeback Mountain for a week. On the last day, Jack shows his dissatisfaction with the arrangement. The occasional short excursions are not enough for him. He'd always hoped to run a ranch with Ennis at some point. He is particularly disappointed when Ennis informs him that he has to cancel the hunting trip planned for August for professional reasons. They can only meet in the cold season. Ennis also rejects a trip to Mexico together because he feels too connected to his homeland. Jack exclaims passionately, "I wish I knew how to leave you." This hurts Ennis so much that he collapses and Jack rushes to him worried. Both burst into tears.
Scene 8: "Early autumn, downtown Riverton, in front of a post office". Ennis receives the return of a postcard that he had sent to Jack weeks earlier with the note "deceased". This upsets him so much that passers-by turn to look at him. He rushes to the nearest phone and calls Lureen, who confirms that Jack had been killed in an accident in July. She couldn't notify him because she didn't have his address. Because Jack always wanted his ashes to be scattered on Brokeback Mountain, she sent them to his parents. Ennis goes there immediately.
Scene 9: “Kitchen of Twists”. Ennis introduces himself to Jack's parents. The mother receives him kindly, but the father is sullen. When Ennis offers to take the ashes to Brokeback Mountain, the father refuses.
Scene 10: "Jack's bedroom". The mother shows Ennis Jack's room, where he finds Jack's and his own bloodied shirt from their first meeting. Jack had kept them all along. The mother allows him to take the shirts with him.
Scene 11: "Ennis' Trailer". With both shirts in hand, Ennis drove to Brokeback Mountain and mourns his friend. He deeply regrets failing to grant Jack's wishes and vows that there will never be anyone else in his life.
layout
The bass-heavy music at the beginning evokes associations with the mountainous landscape of the action. This theme is always present in the course of the opera, even if it is often overlaid by other moods and sometimes reduced to a single short low note. Orchestra interludes musically tune in to the following scenes. The singing parts of the characters change depending on the mood. Already Aguirre's solo at the beginning of the opera changes from “Respect for the Mountain” from a declamatory style to an aria. Ennis' increasing acceptance of his feelings also causes a change. While his part is almost spoken chant at the beginning, it gradually becomes more vocal towards the end.
Formally there are some recourse to traditional opera forms such as arias, duets, ensemble movements and a choir. A ghost scene is also included. As a result, Wuorinen united the different worlds of rural Wyoming and the European opera tradition.
Often referred to as "modernist" music, Wuorinen's music differs significantly from the charismatic works of other recent American composers. It is more in the tradition of Arnold Schönberg or Alban Berg than of Leonard Bernstein or Aaron Copland . The formal and psychological precision of the often angular vowel lines and “prismatic” orchestral outbursts reminded the Gramophone reviewer of Claudio Monteverdi's style . The orchestral accompaniment shows influences from both Claude Debussy and the Expressionists .
The two protagonists are assigned different pitches (“pitches”) with “H” and “C sharp”, which are a whole tone apart - close to each other, but forever separated. The intermediate tone "C" stands as the third tonal level for the mountain itself. Wuorinen saw this tone as a symbol for death and referred among other things. a. on his role at the end of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion . This base note means power, often freedom and peace, but also the threat to the mountain.
The pause between the two acts is optional.
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes (3rd also piccolo ), two oboes , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons , contrabassoon
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba
- Timpani , percussion (two or three players): xylophone , marimba (five octaves), vibraphone , low bass drum , four drums, güiro
- harp
- Strings : for example ten violins 1, eight violins 2, six violas , six cellos , four double basses or more
Chamber version for 24 players
The ensemble of the chamber version for 24 players consists of the following instruments:
- Woodwinds: flutes (also piccolo), oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet (also double bass clarinet ), saxophone quartet (SATB)
- Brass: two horns, trumpet in C, trombone, tuba
- Timpani, percussion (two players): vibraphone, xylophone, four drums, very deep bass drum, güiro
- Piano (robust with resonant bass and brilliant upper register)
- Strings (solo): violin 1, violin 2, viola, two cellos, double bass
Work history
Charles Wuorinen got the idea for his opera after a visit to Ang Lee's film Brokeback Mountain (2005). In 2007 he asked Annie Proulx , the author of the short story of the same name (1997), which served as a model for the film, to create an opera libretto from it. Proulx agreed. Gerard Mortier , then designated director of the New York City Opera , arranged for an official assignment. With his position in New York falling apart, he took the plan with him when he was appointed Artistic Director of the Teatro Real Madrid. The first discussions between the composer and the librettist took place in 2008 at the Ucross Foundation near Sheridan in Wyoming. There Wuorinen had the opportunity to tour the mountains, which the Brokeback Mountain of the plot was modeled on. Wuorinen described the collaboration with the author as "one of the happiest collaborations I've ever enjoyed". The plot has been condensed in comparison to the original. In the libretto version, Proulx resorted to dialect poetry to make the characters' inner thoughts visible.
For Wuorinen, the gender issue as such was less important in his work than the fact that it is a contemporary version of the kind of love problem that became the basis of many operas in the 19th century - a love that, due to insurmountable obstacles in the Society is doomed. It is about the tragedy of a person who is unable to accept his true nature. Instead of glorifying the beauty of Wyoming's mountains, Wuorinen emphasized the sense of threat that he felt was neglected in the film.
The world premiere took place on January 28, 2014 at the Teatro Real in Madrid under the direction of Titus Engel . Ivo van Hove directed, Jan Versweyveld was responsible for the stage and lighting, Wojciech Dziedzic for the costumes and Tal Yarden for the videos. Daniel Okulitch (Ennis del Mar), Tom Randle (Jack Twist), Ethan Herschenfeld (Aguirre and Hogboy), Heather Buck (Alma Beers), Celia Alcedo (Mrs. Beers), Hannah Esther Minutillo (Lureen), Ryan MacPherson ( John Twist Sr.), Jane Henschel (Mrs. Twist), Hilary Summers (bartender) and Letitia Singleton (saleswoman). A recording was released on DVD. Mortier was able to attend the premiere before succumbing to cancer a few weeks later.
The reviews were mixed. While the Spanish press received the work largely positively, British and American reviewers were significantly more critical. Andrew Clements of the Guardian said that opera had good moments, but that music rarely penetrated the lyrics enough to enhance the drama. The text is easy to understand, but has too many words, since Proulx too often did not shorten her story, but expanded it with explanations, background stories and entire scenes. The plot progressed unevenly, and the drama sometimes even paused when it had to go ahead ruthlessly. The staging - a white box with video projections and some naturalistic equipment - is an awkward compromise between naturalism and a suggestive simplicity that is much better suited to the opera. The musical execution by the singers and the orchestra, however, was successful. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times thought the work was an impressive achievement, but it was difficult to love this opera. The score is complex, dynamic and often brilliant, but it is precisely these characteristics that overwhelmed the drama. He found the production wonderful ("starkly beautiful"). A highlight is Ennis' emotional solo singing at the end of the opera - a scene that would not have been imaginable in either the short story or the film version.
The German premiere took place in the same year in a production by Ludger Engels under the conductor Kazem Abdullah at the Aachen Theater. Christian Tschelebiew sang the Ennis, Mark Omvlee the Jack and Antonia Bourvé the Alma. Wuorinen's husband and manager Howard Stokar visited the production facility and told him about it.
For a new production in the Salzburg State Theater , Wuorinen created a reduced chamber version for 24 musicians. The premiere was on February 27, 2016. Adrian Kelly directed the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra . The production was done by Jacopo Spirei, stage and costumes by Eva Musil. The leading roles were sung by Florian Plock (Ennis del Mar), Mark Omvlee (Jack Twist) and Hailey Clark (Alma Beers). This production was also shown at the New York City Opera in 2018.
Recordings
- 2014 - Titus Engel (conductor), Ivo van Hove (director), Jan Versweyveld (stage and lighting), Wojciech Dziedzic (costumes), Tal Yarden (video), orchestra and choir of the Teatro Real Madrid.
Daniel Okulitch (Ennis del Mar), Tom Randle (Jack Twist), Ethan Herschenfeld (Aguirre and Hogboy), Heather Buck (Alma Beers), Celia Alcedo (Mrs. Beers), Hannah Esther Minutillo (Lureen), Ryan MacPherson (John Twist Sr.), Jane Henschel (Mrs. Twist), Hilary Summers (bartender), Letitia Singleton (saleswoman).
Video; live from the Teatro Real Madrid; Recording of the world premiere production.
Video stream on Medici TV; BelAir Classics BAC111 (DVD).
Web links
- Score: Act 1 and Act 2 on ISSUU
- Score of the chamber version: Act 1 and Act 2 on ISSUU
- Paul Ingendaay : Opera "Brokeback Mountain" - From the love of the cowboys. Review of the world premiere production in Madrid 2014 on Deutschlandfunk , January 29, 2014
- Thomas Molke: Mountain full of obstacles. Review of the production in Aachen 2014 in the online music magazine
- Jörn Florian Fuchs: Review - Homoerotic love drama as an opera. Review of the production in Salzburg 2016 on BR-Klassik , February 29, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Brokeback Mountain - Production Details on the composer's website, accessed May 5, 2020.
- ↑ a b Robert Kirzinger: Brokeback Mountain - Program Notes on the composer's website, accessed on May 5, 2020.
- ^ A b c Anthony Tommasini: Operatic Cowboys in Love, Onstage. In: The New York Times , January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Philip Kennicott: Review of the DVD Bel Air Classiques BAC111. In: Gramophone , 7/2015, accessed on May 7, 2020.
- ↑ a b c d e f Philip Kennicott: Love in the Western World. In: Operanews, January 2014, accessed May 6, 2020.
- ↑ a b c work information and video at Medici TV, accessed on May 5, 2020.
- ↑ Brokeback Mountain - About The Opera on the composer's website, accessed May 5, 2020.
- ↑ a b Tim Teeman: How Landmark LGBT movie "Brokeback Mountain" Became an Opera. In: The Daily Beast , June 5, 2018, accessed May 7, 2020.
- ↑ Opera's Brokeback Mountain - it makes perfect sense. In: The Guardian , January 28, 2014, accessed May 6, 2020.
- ↑ a b Wiebke Roloff: Cowboy Opera - Charles Wuorinen's "Brokeback Mountain" as a live recording from Madrid. In: Opernwelt , April 2015, p. 32.
- ^ A b Andrew Clements: Brokeback Mountain - review. Review of the 2014 world premiere production in Madrid. In: The Guardian , January 29, 2014, accessed May 6, 2020.
- ^ William Jeffery: Brokeback Mountain Opera receives world premiere ( Memento from December 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: Limelight, January 30, 2014.
- ↑ Christoph Zimmermann: Aachen: Brokeback Mountain by Charles Wuorinen - German premiere - premiere on December 7th. In: Online Merker, December 8, 2014, accessed on May 6, 2020.
- ↑ Information on the performance in Salzburg 2016 on the website of the Salzburger Landestheater , accessed on May 6, 2020.
- ^ Edward Sava-Segal: Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain returns home to NYCO. In: Bachtrack, June 4, 2018, accessed May 7, 2020.