Vermont Opera’s a Triumph A Review of Erik Nielsen’s ‘Fleeting Animal’

Vermont Opera’s a Triumph A Review of Erik Nielsen’s ‘Fleeting Animal’

The new Vermont opera by Erik Nielsen of Brookfield proved itself a triumph Sunday in a well-attended afternoon performance that ended in an immediate standing ovation.

"A Fleeting Animal" was based on the Judevine poems by Vermont poet David Budbill.

Any opera is almost impossible to stage on a limited budget—much less an original full-length opera full of 20th century music. Some of us, perhaps, expected to see some corners cut in the admirable attempt to bring new music to the stage.

Not in this production: This was first class, the real thing, with fine voices, a skilled orchestra, expert music direction, a serious and dramatic script, and about two hours of evocative and often very beautiful music. A production of such quality almost seems a miracle, but if so it was a miracle with lots of witnesses. "A Fleeting Animal" was nearly a sellout in its weekend in Montpelier and attracted about 250 people to Chandler, a marvelous turnout for experimental fare.

There were lots of stars but the brightest (as must be the case in any successful opera) was the music. Nielsen’s score was thoroughly modern but eclectic at the same time, not afraid of tonality and not averse to atonality either; so that the whole question of tonality—the great bugaboo of "modern" music—became nearly irrelevant.

More importantly, the style of music suited the mood of the action and the actors and enhanced the emotional impact of the drama.

Some of the solo writing was a little dry for our tastes, but there were moments of great beauty. Our favorites were the jazz-inflected scene late in the second act and the tender and anguished music given to the chorus near the end as tragedy unfolds around them.

The love duets of the major two actors were affecting as well.

The second star in the constellation would be Music Director Anne Decker, who was brought in partway through the production. She did a splendid job in preparing the singers and the fine small orchestra, and her conducting showed mastery of this complicated score and control over her musical forces. Now living in Stowe, Decker’s a dynamic addition to Central Vermont’s musical resources.

The solo voices, some of them from Vermont and some from out-of-state, were excellent. Lisa Jablow and Joseph DiSalle carried the difficult lead roles with versatility and vocal beauty, and there was not a glaring weakness in the cast.

Dramatically, "A Fleeting Animal" sets the time-honored tradition of star-crossed lovers in hardscrabble rural Vermont, where Tommy is a veteran scarred by his Vietnam experience and Grace is an unwed mother from the wrong side of town. Imprisoned both by their own demons and by the narrow-mindedness of the townsfolk, they find brief happiness together only to succumb to their torments.

The chorus of townsfolk at least has the decency in the end to mourn, but this is not a pretty picture of rural life. There’s a bow to the brief relief offered by summer, in a softball game scene, but even this is accompanied by a blues tune.

Far more frequently there are complaints about how cold it is and how hard everybody has to work and how nobody can be kind to one another. Tommy’s black friends from Vietnam offer a racial dimension to the general distress, and when they get together in a trio with Grace, late in the opera, to threaten some kind of retribution over their oppressors, it all seems a bit much.

Just then, though, comes the affecting finale. Grace, losing her mind, imagines that she is beginning a new relationship with a man, which can fulfill her terrible needs. Nielsen illustrates Grace’s illusions with hopeful, almost happy music, while the horrified chorus of townspeople responds with musical sobs of anguish. It’s an inspired ending in the great tragic tradition.

Congratulations to Erik Nielsen, David Budbill, the Vermont Opera Theater, Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble and the dozens of individuals involved. And thanks for bringing it to Chandler Music Hall where, according to participants, it sounded best.

By M. Dickey Drysdale