We’re looking to two “contemporary” operas on this week’s Sunday Opera (1/19 3:00 p.m.) beginning with Andre Previn’s “Brief Encounter” in a production from the Houston Grand Opera and Philip Glass’ interesting adaption of Jean Cocteau’s film “Belle et le Bete” having written an opera that synchs perfectly with the film. Of course, we can’t show you the film, but the opera is quite enjoyable on its own.
John Caird wrote the libretto for Previn’s score, basing it on both Noel Coward’s play “Still Life” and Coward’s own adaptation for the 1945 film that starred Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. The opera was commissioned by Houston Grand and premiered in 2009.
Elizabeth Futral plays Laura Jesson, a housewife who unexpectedly meets and falls in love with Doctor Alec Harvey performed by Nathan Gunn, and the story follows their chance and arranged meetings until Harvey realizes that it can’t possibly work for them and moves his family to South Africa. Laura returns to her loving but incompatible husband after almost committing suicide by throwing herself in front of a train. Her husband, Fred played by Kim Josephson, thanks her for returning to him without ever realizing why she was going to leave which only intensifies Laura’s angst.
Other members of the company include Meredith Arwady, Robert Orth, Rebekah Camm, Adam Cioffari, Alicia Gianni, James J. Kee, Jamie Barton, and Faith Sherman. Patrick Summers leads the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra.
Glass wrote the French libretto for the Opera accompaniment to Cocteau’s “La Belle et la Bete” based on Cocteau’s script for the 1946 film. Once again, the work parallels the film perfectly, and even though it’s brilliant to watch, the opera stands on its own merits and is an interesting addition to Glass’ catalogue since the need to synchronize it with the film challenged him to write in a different style than we usually expect.
The cast for this recording features Janice Felty as Belle, Gregory Purnhagen as La Bete and Avenant, John Kuether as Belle’s father, Ana Maria Martinez and Hallie Neill as Belle’s sisters Felicie and Adelaide, and Zheng Zhou as the wicked Ludovic. Michael Riesman conducts The Philip Glass Ensemble.
We’ll close our time together with Andre Previn at the piano accompanying Benjamin Luxon and Robert Tear in a piece by Jacques Offenbach entitled The Gendarmes Duet fr. “Genevieve de Brabant” which will certainly sound familiar but in a totally different context!
