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Flint Journal, MI
May 5 2005
Freedom's 'child'
Michigan Opera Theatre ready to debut powerful story from slave erea
[email protected] ~U 810.766.6245
QUICK TAKE
Preview
"Margaret Garner"
Where: Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway, Detroit
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. May 14 and 20, 5
p.m. May 22
Tickets: $35-$140 at the box office, or charge by calling the opera
house, (313) 237-SING, or Ticketmaster, (248) 645-6666, or order
online, www.motopera.org.
Staging the world premiere of the opera "Margaret Garner" in Detroit
is akin to "giving birth to some incredible new child."
That's how David DiChiera, general director of the Michigan Opera
Theatre, describes the $2-million production, which opens Saturday at
the Detroit Opera House.
"Whereas babies take nine months, this has taken five years," he
said.
It's an opera of firsts - for the creative team of Nobel
Prize-winning author Toni Morrison and Grammy Award-winning composer
Richard Danielpour. And for director Kenny Leon, who recently made
his Broadway debut directing a revival of "A Raisin in the Sun."
Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is originating the role of the fugitive
slave who kills her children to save them from a return to bondage.
"This is the first time I've worked in a production with a subject
matter that's so intensely personal," she said.
"I've just become a mother myself. I believe I understand and even
respect the decision (Garner made) - as impossible a decision as it
is."
The production features two choruses, a large orchestra and an A-list
cast, including soprano Angela M. Brown (as Cilla, mother of Garner's
husband, Robert) and baritone Gregg Baker (as Robert).
The opera is inspired by the true story of an enslaved family's quest
for freedom. Fleeing a Kentucky plantation in 1856, Garner sacrificed
her children to save them from a return to bondage. She slit the
throat of her 2-year-old and injured her three other children before
U.S. marshals seized her and her family.
The ensuing trial raised the question of whether Garner should be
tried for murder or destruction of property.
"The story is grand opera," said DiChiera. "I believe a lot of people
are coming to see this opera who've never seen an opera."
Long a believer in celebrating the city's cultural and ethnic
diversity, DiChiera said he's building bridges through art. He staged
the American premieres of the Armenian opera "Anoush" and the Polish
opera "Haunted Castle," turning to both of those ethnic communities
to raise funds. He has reached out to African-American churches and
organizations to sell tickets to "Margaret Garner."
Most of the money for this opera has come from large corporations,
but there also has been substantial support from individuals and
businesses owned by African Americans.
The production, a co-commission with the Cincinnati and Philadelphia
opera companies, is the MOT's first world premiere since "Washington
Square" in 1976.
DiChiera said he wanted to produce an opera that would pay tribute to
and reflect the African-American experience.
He became aware that Morrison and Danielpour had been collaborating
on "Margaret Garner" since 1996 (she as librettist, he as composer).
He contacted Danielpour, one of the most recorded composers of recent
years.
"I said, 'It doesn't worry me that you've not done (an opera)
before,' " DiChiera recalled.
"He introduced me to some of his recordings and I realized that he
wasn't treating the voice like another instrument, but he was
treating it as something that could express the emotions of the
words. That's what opera is all about."
DiChiera brought Danielpour to Detroit to discuss the project with
about 35 community leaders.
"He passionately talked about his belief in the importance of this
work and that it reflected the human condition, not only in the 19th
century, but today," DiChiera said. "He's of Jewish-Iranian heritage,
and he has tremendous empathy for people. He feels himself a citizen
of the world."
Graves said Danielpour had approached her at one of her performances
and said he wanted to write this opera for her.
She began to research Garner's story and "the more I sat with that
information and let it digest, the more I felt that I understood
her," she said.
The role presented many challenges, said Graves, a star who's well
known for her portrayals of the title roles in Bizet's "Carmen" (for
New York's Metropolitan Opera) and Saint-Saens' "Samson et Dalila."
"When the opera opens, you see them (the family) on the auction
(block). When (Edward) Gaines buys the entire plantation, we're all
happy that our family stayed together.
"(But), to play happy in this opera has to be with this heavy cloud.
Happy is not with abandon."
Expressing Garner's strong character while maintaining her submissive
role as a slave also was a challenge, she said. "There's a scene
where she's asked a question in front of white people. She's asked
her opinion, which would never happen. It causes a great scandal.
"In opera, people can't read your thoughts,"Graves said. "I'm trying
to find a way so that my thoughts are clear, but not so demonstrative
that it goes against the time and her position."
Brown, originally cast to portray Cilla in the later Cincinnati and
Philadelphia performances, is now taking on the role in Detroit as
well. Initially, opera superstar Jessye Norman was cast in the role
but she bowed out.
"We weren't prepared to give her the kind of participation she
(Norman) was looking for," DiChiera said. "It was mostly her concept
of the role, her desire to be more involved with the evolution of the
opera."
Meanwhile, Brown made an impressive Metropolitan Opera debut last
fall in the title role of Aida. It catapulted her to the rank of
rising star.
"I am so honored and blessed to be able to tell our story in our
voice," said Brown.
Cilla is "like any loving mother," she said. "She wants the best for
her children and grandchildren.
"I have to give her some backstory," Brown added. "She's been a slave
longer than they've been alive. She knows the pitfalls. She's a
comforter and a person who warns. She's the spiritual force, the glue
that holds the family together."
Brown expresses the sentiments of all involved with the opera when
she says, "I hope the community will embrace it with mind and heart."
May 5 2005
Freedom's 'child'
Michigan Opera Theatre ready to debut powerful story from slave erea
[email protected] ~U 810.766.6245
QUICK TAKE
Preview
"Margaret Garner"
Where: Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway, Detroit
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. May 14 and 20, 5
p.m. May 22
Tickets: $35-$140 at the box office, or charge by calling the opera
house, (313) 237-SING, or Ticketmaster, (248) 645-6666, or order
online, www.motopera.org.
Staging the world premiere of the opera "Margaret Garner" in Detroit
is akin to "giving birth to some incredible new child."
That's how David DiChiera, general director of the Michigan Opera
Theatre, describes the $2-million production, which opens Saturday at
the Detroit Opera House.
"Whereas babies take nine months, this has taken five years," he
said.
It's an opera of firsts - for the creative team of Nobel
Prize-winning author Toni Morrison and Grammy Award-winning composer
Richard Danielpour. And for director Kenny Leon, who recently made
his Broadway debut directing a revival of "A Raisin in the Sun."
Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is originating the role of the fugitive
slave who kills her children to save them from a return to bondage.
"This is the first time I've worked in a production with a subject
matter that's so intensely personal," she said.
"I've just become a mother myself. I believe I understand and even
respect the decision (Garner made) - as impossible a decision as it
is."
The production features two choruses, a large orchestra and an A-list
cast, including soprano Angela M. Brown (as Cilla, mother of Garner's
husband, Robert) and baritone Gregg Baker (as Robert).
The opera is inspired by the true story of an enslaved family's quest
for freedom. Fleeing a Kentucky plantation in 1856, Garner sacrificed
her children to save them from a return to bondage. She slit the
throat of her 2-year-old and injured her three other children before
U.S. marshals seized her and her family.
The ensuing trial raised the question of whether Garner should be
tried for murder or destruction of property.
"The story is grand opera," said DiChiera. "I believe a lot of people
are coming to see this opera who've never seen an opera."
Long a believer in celebrating the city's cultural and ethnic
diversity, DiChiera said he's building bridges through art. He staged
the American premieres of the Armenian opera "Anoush" and the Polish
opera "Haunted Castle," turning to both of those ethnic communities
to raise funds. He has reached out to African-American churches and
organizations to sell tickets to "Margaret Garner."
Most of the money for this opera has come from large corporations,
but there also has been substantial support from individuals and
businesses owned by African Americans.
The production, a co-commission with the Cincinnati and Philadelphia
opera companies, is the MOT's first world premiere since "Washington
Square" in 1976.
DiChiera said he wanted to produce an opera that would pay tribute to
and reflect the African-American experience.
He became aware that Morrison and Danielpour had been collaborating
on "Margaret Garner" since 1996 (she as librettist, he as composer).
He contacted Danielpour, one of the most recorded composers of recent
years.
"I said, 'It doesn't worry me that you've not done (an opera)
before,' " DiChiera recalled.
"He introduced me to some of his recordings and I realized that he
wasn't treating the voice like another instrument, but he was
treating it as something that could express the emotions of the
words. That's what opera is all about."
DiChiera brought Danielpour to Detroit to discuss the project with
about 35 community leaders.
"He passionately talked about his belief in the importance of this
work and that it reflected the human condition, not only in the 19th
century, but today," DiChiera said. "He's of Jewish-Iranian heritage,
and he has tremendous empathy for people. He feels himself a citizen
of the world."
Graves said Danielpour had approached her at one of her performances
and said he wanted to write this opera for her.
She began to research Garner's story and "the more I sat with that
information and let it digest, the more I felt that I understood
her," she said.
The role presented many challenges, said Graves, a star who's well
known for her portrayals of the title roles in Bizet's "Carmen" (for
New York's Metropolitan Opera) and Saint-Saens' "Samson et Dalila."
"When the opera opens, you see them (the family) on the auction
(block). When (Edward) Gaines buys the entire plantation, we're all
happy that our family stayed together.
"(But), to play happy in this opera has to be with this heavy cloud.
Happy is not with abandon."
Expressing Garner's strong character while maintaining her submissive
role as a slave also was a challenge, she said. "There's a scene
where she's asked a question in front of white people. She's asked
her opinion, which would never happen. It causes a great scandal.
"In opera, people can't read your thoughts,"Graves said. "I'm trying
to find a way so that my thoughts are clear, but not so demonstrative
that it goes against the time and her position."
Brown, originally cast to portray Cilla in the later Cincinnati and
Philadelphia performances, is now taking on the role in Detroit as
well. Initially, opera superstar Jessye Norman was cast in the role
but she bowed out.
"We weren't prepared to give her the kind of participation she
(Norman) was looking for," DiChiera said. "It was mostly her concept
of the role, her desire to be more involved with the evolution of the
opera."
Meanwhile, Brown made an impressive Metropolitan Opera debut last
fall in the title role of Aida. It catapulted her to the rank of
rising star.
"I am so honored and blessed to be able to tell our story in our
voice," said Brown.
Cilla is "like any loving mother," she said. "She wants the best for
her children and grandchildren.
"I have to give her some backstory," Brown added. "She's been a slave
longer than they've been alive. She knows the pitfalls. She's a
comforter and a person who warns. She's the spiritual force, the glue
that holds the family together."
Brown expresses the sentiments of all involved with the opera when
she says, "I hope the community will embrace it with mind and heart."