'Orpheus' is intriguing swirl of myth, music, song, dance
By Dominic P. Papatola
[email protected]
April 21, 2008
"Orpheus and Euridice" lasts just an hour and 15 minutes, even with an intermission. But a great deal happens in that short time.
In a co-production of the Minnesota Dance Theatre and Nautilus Music-Theater, the story of ancient lovers is told through the warm and evocative soprano voice of Norah Long; the rangy, moody clarinet playing of Pat O'Keefe and Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner's blend of classical and contemporary choreography carried out by Eight Dancers.
Ricky Ian Gordon's song cycle is considerably more circumscribed than his "Grapes of Wrath," which received a rapturous world premiere at the Minnesota Opera in 2007. Though the scope is smaller, the focus in this production is more diffuse.
Nautilus artistic director Ben Krywosz co-helmed this production with Guttierez-Garner. Though each brings undeniable strength in their areas of expertise, they are less successful as a team at knitting together the diverse elements.
Gordon's music is ethereal and languid, but works in a relatively narrow emotional range that tugs persistently but vaguely at the heartstrings. Guttierez-Garner's dancers, clothed in washed-out pastels, move in loose, flowing, sometimes symmetrical sync with the music. The company uses Tom Mays' Spartan set well, particularly when the dancers disappear behind semi-opaque panels as they pick their way through the underworld.
Long, the vocalist, is sometimes incorporated into the choreographic corps and sometimes stands apart from the action as Sam Feipel and Malanie Verna dance through the courtship, separation-by-death and ill-fated reunion of the mythical lovers.
This technique – and the fact that O'Keefe stands on a platform off to the left doing virtuoso work on his clarinet with pianist Mindy Eschedor behind him – often presents a split picture, with the directors doing an insufficient job of guiding our focus.
And while Long's voice and slightly otherworldly presence are appropriate and more than apt for the task, the operatic styling of the music seems to call for super-titling the lyrics (which are printed in the program, but difficult to read in a dark theater).
The cross-collaboration between Minnesota Dance Theatre and Nautilus was the right choice for the piece, which transcends the normal boundaries of music, theater and dance. If the execution isn't perfect, the effort and the artistic evolution on display merit both notice and attention.
Theater critic Dominic P Papatola can be reached at 651-228-2165.
[return to Orpheus and Euridice press page]
[email protected]
April 21, 2008
"Orpheus and Euridice" lasts just an hour and 15 minutes, even with an intermission. But a great deal happens in that short time.
In a co-production of the Minnesota Dance Theatre and Nautilus Music-Theater, the story of ancient lovers is told through the warm and evocative soprano voice of Norah Long; the rangy, moody clarinet playing of Pat O'Keefe and Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner's blend of classical and contemporary choreography carried out by Eight Dancers.
Ricky Ian Gordon's song cycle is considerably more circumscribed than his "Grapes of Wrath," which received a rapturous world premiere at the Minnesota Opera in 2007. Though the scope is smaller, the focus in this production is more diffuse.
Nautilus artistic director Ben Krywosz co-helmed this production with Guttierez-Garner. Though each brings undeniable strength in their areas of expertise, they are less successful as a team at knitting together the diverse elements.
Gordon's music is ethereal and languid, but works in a relatively narrow emotional range that tugs persistently but vaguely at the heartstrings. Guttierez-Garner's dancers, clothed in washed-out pastels, move in loose, flowing, sometimes symmetrical sync with the music. The company uses Tom Mays' Spartan set well, particularly when the dancers disappear behind semi-opaque panels as they pick their way through the underworld.
Long, the vocalist, is sometimes incorporated into the choreographic corps and sometimes stands apart from the action as Sam Feipel and Malanie Verna dance through the courtship, separation-by-death and ill-fated reunion of the mythical lovers.
This technique – and the fact that O'Keefe stands on a platform off to the left doing virtuoso work on his clarinet with pianist Mindy Eschedor behind him – often presents a split picture, with the directors doing an insufficient job of guiding our focus.
And while Long's voice and slightly otherworldly presence are appropriate and more than apt for the task, the operatic styling of the music seems to call for super-titling the lyrics (which are printed in the program, but difficult to read in a dark theater).
The cross-collaboration between Minnesota Dance Theatre and Nautilus was the right choice for the piece, which transcends the normal boundaries of music, theater and dance. If the execution isn't perfect, the effort and the artistic evolution on display merit both notice and attention.
Theater critic Dominic P Papatola can be reached at 651-228-2165.
[return to Orpheus and Euridice press page]