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Look, kids, we get it. Opera ain’t for everyone, and it certainly ain’t easy. It’s all foreign languages and intricate plot lines and hunchbacks and sometimes super long. But when we take away that visceral, sitcom-esque response to the artform and really try to look beyond our knee-jerk societal conditioning, we also see that there is beauty and a grand tradition dating back to God only knows when. Yes, opera can be accessible, and a ragtag handful of musicians and singers are out to prove that with an upcoming performance of a new and original work called UnShakeable. This piece by local musician/composer Joseph Illick and librettist Andrea Fellows Walters tells the tale of Wyatt and Meridian, former lovers/Shakespearean actors in the not-too-distant future who have fallen victim to Erasure, a viral pandemic that causes memory loss. Separated from his love, Wyatt has been searching every theater they performed in over the years, and when we join him, he’s just found her. Using Shakespearean language (stay with us), UnShakeable examines the importance of memory and song as well the power of love. So hell yeah, it’s cool, but in case you need a little more convincing, here are a few important reasons to be there when the curtain rises.
It's not all stuffy …
According to Boston-based soprano Jacquelyn Stucker, who plays Meridian, the production may share a lot with the opera tradition, but musically, it is still very contemporary. Of course, we're not talkin' Philip Glass levels of minimalism by any means—this production is going to be fun.
"We go to live theater to experience something, and there's a great deal of vulnerability in this line of work," Stucker says. "People can have fun with [UnShakeable], they can find a way in, something to connect with and maybe leave feeling a little more complete. If we're doing our job, the audience will be having fun."
… because they're thinking about you, young folks and opera novices.
Fellows Walters, who celebrates a decade of writing librettos this year, is more than aware how some perceive the opera and had this in mind when writing the book. "It's trying to create pieces that are what I like to call more 'nimble' and trying to tell stories that have a more contemporary context or setting," Fellows Walters says. "Our production is part of the Santa Fe Opera's Opera for All Ages initiative, through which we try to present work for that person who may be more reluctant to think that opera is for them." What the hell is a libretto, you ask? Those are the words. Word? Word.
Science fiction (oooh-ooooh-oooooh)!
The story picks up three years after the pandemic and exists within a dystopian hellscape. That's the whole reason, and it should damn well be enough.
Don't be an opera hater, be an intramural song participator.
Composer Illick, a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London, points out that UnShakeable was written in English; unlike most other operas, it offers the audience a chance to get directly involved. "For the audience to learn a song is unusual in this medium," Illick says.
And furthermore, Shakespeare rules. Duh.
"The other factor here is that Shakespeare's writing includes hundreds of phrases that are now a common part of everyone's verbal culture," Illick adds. "Like when we say someone wears their heart on their sleeve or something was a wild goose chase. … People take for granted that our language is full of Shakespeare, and this piece will bring some of that out." See? You already know this stuff! It's kind of like how you know a bunch of ELO songs without realizing it. If you're thinking, "No, I don't!" trust me—you do; look it up.
It's new!
I get that you probably think opera is all these old songs and words, but this thing is new as hell, OK? This is actually the world premiere, and that suits Houston-based baritone Samuel Schultz just fine. "To have the first shot at a character and explore ideas fresh is always exciting," Shultz tells SFR. "You can make the most of exploring your own choices without taking someone else's performance into account."
Unshakeable:
6 pm Saturday, April 9, and
2 pm Sunday, April 10. $10.
Scottish Rite Center,
463 Paseo de Peralta,
986-5900
Santa Fe Reporter