When I reviewed Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s first production of Scott Joplin’s only surviving opera “Treemonisha” back in 2000 I noted that one of the remarkable things about it was that it existed at all. Ignored during the composer’s lifetime, “Treemonisha” wasn't produced professionally until 1972—55 years after Joplin's death. Prior to that first OTSL production its only previous appearance locally was in 1979.
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| The "shadow show" prelude Photo: Jessica Flanigan |
The new “Treemonisha” at OTSL through June 24th is even more remarkable in that it takes an exceptionally fine production of Joplin’s opera and adds an operatic prelude and postlude about Joplin and the composition of “Treemonisha” by the composer/lyricist team of Damien Sneed and Karen Chilton. The result is a brand new work (officially described as “an adaptation”) in which the added scenes, as Chilton writes in a prefatory note to the libretto, “should be addressed not [as] a separate addendum but as a continuous part of the opera as a whole.”
So let’s do that.
This new adaptation of “Treemonisha,” then, begins with a roughly 45-minute first act depicting the 1904 marriage of Joplin (baritone Justin Austin) to his second wife, Freddie Alexander (soprano Brandie Inez Sutton). They’re deeply in love. “I delight in our quiet company,” declares Freddie. “Oh, my muse!” sings Joplin. “What tunes you’ll inspire / What magic you’ll conjure.”
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| Justin Austin as Scott Joplin Photo: Eric Woolsey |
Alas, their joy is short-lived. By the following September, Freddie is near death due to complications from a cold (presumably pneumonia) even as Joplin puts the finishing touches on “Treemonisha.” During a long and harrowing death scene, Joplin shares his high hopes for the opera and, as Freddie expires, he plays a few bars of “Bethena, a Concert Waltz” (“Remember this tune?” he pleads. “So fitting, so apropos of your grace.”).
With Freddie’s death, Joplin’s grief is so profound that (to quote the program), “through the power of Sankofa…he is pulled into the world of his opera, where he can have one more adventure with his great love.” And with that he—and we—are transported to the magical realism of Joplin’s “Treemonisha” courtesy of stage director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, conductor George Manahan, and a wonderful design team. Always something of a fairy tale opera, “Treemonisha” gets a brilliantly imaginative and highly effective staging here that minimizes its flaws while maximizing its strong points. The available production shots you see here do not, alas, begin to capture the strong visual appeal of Marsha Ginsburg's sets, Dede Ayite's costumes, and the fanciful wigs and makeup of Krystal Balleza and Will Vicari.
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| Brandie Inez Sutton and Justin Austin as Treemonisha and Ruben Photo: Eric Woolsey |
Joplin sets the story in the late 1880s on “a plantation somewhere in the State of Arkansas.” Here, unlike her neighbors, young Treemonisha (Sutton) has been formally educated. As a result she rejects the superstition of Zodzetrick (baritone Phillip Bullock, in an exuberantly theatrical performance) and his fellow conjurers, who prey on the ignorance of the community for their livelihood. Captured by the conjurers and about to be thrown into a wasp's nest, Treemonisha is rescued by her friend Remus (Austin) and returned to the community, who elect her as their leader and pledge to "march onward" to a better life to the infectious strains of “A Real Slow Drag.”
It's a beautiful dream but, like all dreams, it eventually must yield to reality. In a brief final scene we see the aged Joplin—living in squalor, crippled with arthritis, and dying of syphilis—sinking into despair at the failure of his opera and of his artistic vision. “Where is that luminescent future / Of my dreams?”, he cries. His answer, in what might or might not be a dying man’s delirium, comes from the spirit of Freddie:
My dear Maestro
You must know
You are ahead of your time.
[…]
In due season
At the precise hour
Of the Divine’s orchestration
All will know,
Hear and love,
Your wonderous creation.
Raised from the "slough of despond," Joplin links arms with Freddie/Treemonisha and together they exit, humming the tune of “A Real Slow Drag.” Dreams don’t die if you keep “marching onward.”
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| Norman Garrett and KS. Tichina Vaughan Photo: Eric Woolsey |
Does all of this work as a new opera? Yes and no. The new first act (titled “The Dawning”) is often powerful and moving, but it also tends to be repetitious, retracing the same emotional and philosophical territory often enough to come perilously close to feeling preachy. Some judicious editing would give it more impact, in my view. But as a way, in Chilton’s words, of making “this 21st century re-imagining of Treemonisha aspirational” it clearly succeeds, producing a whole that is, as the cliché goes, more than the sum of its parts. Too, Sneed’s love of Joplin’s music enables him to produce a score that sounds both completely contemporary while still honoring the sonic world of over a century ago.
Critical to the opera’s success, of course, are the strong performances by the cast. Austin and Sutton are particularly outstanding as both Joplin/Remus and Freddie/Treemonisha. As Remus, Austin radiates moral simple conviction in “Wrong is Never Right (A Lecture)”. As Joplin, he is complex, conflicted, and compelling. And he is always vocally powerful and clear. Sutton is just as impressive vocally and her fragile, loving Freddie could not be more different from her self-assured Treemonisha.
Other members of the cast have spotlight moments as well. I have already mentioned Bullock’s delightfully serio-comic Zodzetrick. As Ned, baritone Normal Garrett balances the scales with a commanding delivery of “When Villains Ramble Far and Near.” The role is written for a bass, but Garrett punches out those low notes with authority.
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| The cast if Treemonisha Photo: Eric Woolsey |
Mezzo KS. Tichina Vaughan is a warm and sympathetic Monisha. Baritone Markel Reed has a priceless comic cameo as Parson Alltalk. And soprano Amani Cole-Felder shines in the dual roles of Freddie’s sister Lovie and Treemonisha’s friend Lucy.
And then there’s the OTSL chorus under the direction of Andrew Whitfield. Originally a choral singer himself, Joplin composed some spectacular ensemble numbers, especially in the final act, and the singers do them up proud. Conductor Manahan leads members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in an exceptionally persuasive reading of the Sneed/Joplin score.
Despite its flaws (Joplin the librettist did not serve Joplin the composer well) I have always loved “Treemonisha.” I don’t think this new adaptation is likely to supplant the original in my affections, but it certainly is a welcome addition to the scene. With their creative rethinking of “Treemonisha.” Sneed and Chilton have once again shown themselves to be a force majeure in contemporary opera.
Performances of “Treemonisha” continue through June 24th at the Loretto-Hilton Center in rotating repertory with the rest of Opera Theatre’s season. Like many new works it could stand a bit of tweaking, but it also deserves to be seen and enjoyed. Performances are sung in English with projected English text. For ticket information, visit the OTSL web site.
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