Published in Herald Sun Melbourne, 28th January 2020 in edited form
Opera has a history of gender-bending roles in the service of art but it has taken until the 21st century for a work to zero in on the issue of gender itself. Poignantly achieved in American composer Laura Kaminsky’s 75-minute 2014 chamber opera, As One, it’s also the first time the protagonist is transgender.
It’s the story of Hannah and told through her eyes as she grows up as a boy, eventually understanding that she cannot identify living with the gender she was born with. Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed’s libretto map her journey chronologically through episodes sprinkled with wit and generous with feeling.
There is Hannah Before (Joshua Erdelyi-Götz) and Hannah After (Marie Campbell), baritone and mezzo-soprano shadowing each other through her internal struggles. From first realising he was not like other boys, then realising he was not alone and onto final acceptance, life is sung with meaning and vigour.
Early on, you can sense the fire within as a vocally muscular Erdelyi-Götz is determined to conceal himself in a male stereotype. A rich and luminous-voiced Campbell shares a touching ballad-like song in one of the work’s highlights when Hannah gets her first kiss from a young man. And the horror of assault is powerfully intertwined by the pair who together notch up a couple of splendid performances.
Written for string quartet and two voices across 15 songs, Kaminsky’s music is an evocative experience that raises each scene thoughtfully while constructing an embracing acoustic collage. Conductor Alexandra Enyart gave brisk and pulsating rhythm to the score and director Linda Thompson’s clever and gripping approach highlighted the work’s innate naturalism. Overall, it resonated via a most simple staging that includes scene-identifying film footage.
Hats off to Gertrude Opera for staging this biting and heart-warming work in its Australian premiere as part of Midsumma Festival. The world won’t implode if we open our hearts and minds. Like Hannah says, when she was a paperboy cycling around with a woman’s blouse worn under her jacket, “The papers still get delivered.”
As One
Gertrude Opera
Fortyfivedownstairs
Until 1st February 2020
4-stars
Production Photos: Sarah Clarke
Opera has a history of gender-bending roles in the service of art but it has taken until the 21st century for a work to zero in on the issue of gender itself. Poignantly achieved in American composer Laura Kaminsky’s 75-minute 2014 chamber opera, As One, it’s also the first time the protagonist is transgender.
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| Marie Campbell as Hannah Before |
There is Hannah Before (Joshua Erdelyi-Götz) and Hannah After (Marie Campbell), baritone and mezzo-soprano shadowing each other through her internal struggles. From first realising he was not like other boys, then realising he was not alone and onto final acceptance, life is sung with meaning and vigour.
Early on, you can sense the fire within as a vocally muscular Erdelyi-Götz is determined to conceal himself in a male stereotype. A rich and luminous-voiced Campbell shares a touching ballad-like song in one of the work’s highlights when Hannah gets her first kiss from a young man. And the horror of assault is powerfully intertwined by the pair who together notch up a couple of splendid performances.
 |
| Joshua Erdelyi-Götz) as Hannah Before and Marie Campbell as Hannah After |
Hats off to Gertrude Opera for staging this biting and heart-warming work in its Australian premiere as part of Midsumma Festival. The world won’t implode if we open our hearts and minds. Like Hannah says, when she was a paperboy cycling around with a woman’s blouse worn under her jacket, “The papers still get delivered.”
As One
Gertrude Opera
Fortyfivedownstairs
Until 1st February 2020
4-stars
Production Photos: Sarah Clarke
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