Stage Review: Opera Memphis' experimental 'Orpheus' is too safe

Photo by Brandon Dill // Buy this photo

Kathryn Cowdrick performs as Orpheus in the opera of the same name during a rehearsal at Opera Memphis.

For many classical music fans, the words “experimental opera” conjure visions of Hades, or something very close to it. Maybe a bare stage, five naked countertenors and two jet engines roaring in the key of A-minor. Or a “Carmen” as performed by professional wrestlers. Scary, and avoidable.

When Opera Memphis experiments, however, it’s closer to what happens in a high school biology class using a Petri dish and a scalpel. The purpose is to test its audience’s interest in more daring alchemy. Someday, maybe, the company will play with fire. But for now, they are bisecting a flatworm and watching it grow back.

Photo by Brandon Dill

Kathryn Cowdrick performs as Orpheus in the opera of the same name during a rehearsal at Opera Memphis.

Sean Davis

Nicholas Tamagna as Orpheus and Sarah C. Squire as Amor in Opera Memphis' "Orpheus."

“Orpheus,” the company’s mid-season production running through Sunday at the Clark Opera Memphis Center, can be considered “experimental” for a few reasons.

First, given the economy, Opera Memphis needs to know if their gymnasium-sized rehearsal hall at their headquarters is suitable for future shows. Renting the Orpheum is a big expense.

Their own space is versatile, intimate and just the right size for Gluck’s three-character Baroque opera along with all its extras: a 15-member chorus, dancing demons provided by New Ballet Ensemble and musicians from the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. But getting a good balance of voice and instrumentals, not to mention making the English libretto understandable as English, may require future assistance from a real scientist. Namely, an acoustician.

Second, the company wanted to try a more conceptual presentation. The set is minimal — a white floor with white drapes on either side and a few movable set pieces. The chorus’ costumes are white and contemporary, while Orpheus and Eurydice are dressed as extras from “Clash of the Titans.” Amor, the god of love, played by Sarah C. Squire, prances about like a Peter Pan with clip-on wings.

From Tennessee Williams to Jean Cocteau, many artists have offered their own spins on the Orpheus legend. Director Patrick Hansen offers neither a spin nor a twist, but a fairly straightforward setting of the story.

Finally, the opera company wanted to give its audience a historical perspective on Gluck, and in this, the production is a wonderful gift to opera fans. On opening night, and again tonight, countertenor Nicholas Tamagna sings the role of Orpheus. Tamagna’s impressive filigrees bring weight and substance to a role that can seem a touch comical to modern ears. On other nights, tenor Marc Schreiner and mezzo-soprano Kathryn Cowdrick play Orpheus opposite Kearstin Piper Brown’s intense portrayal of Eurydice.

Now, if only there were a night when Orpheus cycled through all three vocalists in a single performance — that would be the beginning of a real concept. Still, “Orpheus” is unlike anything Opera Memphis has done in years, a toe dipped into slightly more avant-garde waters that, in the future, could really give the company a reason to stretch its imagination.

Opera Memphis presents Gluck’s “Orpheus”

Presented at the Clark Opera Memphis Center, 6745 Wolf River Parkway. Shows are 7:30 p.m. tonight (with countertenor Nicholas Tamagna), Saturday (with tenor Marc Schreiner) and Sunday (with mezzo-soprano Kathryn Cowdrick). Tickets are $30 for the first time, $15 for second-timers. Call 257-3100.

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