The Scott Jublin opera had a “Treemonisha”, a long time ago, there was a ghost in the classic music scene in America. Some of the people were known for this, but no one has actually seen it, because it was not fully organized until the 1972 joint presentation section by the music department in Atlanta Symphony and Murhaus.
The 1911 work is important because it is an early early example by an African American composer, not only any African American author, but one of the most important creators in Ragtime (although it must be said quickly, “TREMONISHA” is not Ragtime).
Despite the first show of 1972 and the subsequent production in the Greater Houston Opera and other places, the opera remained a challenge to the introductions because it was not completed at the time of the death of Jublin, with the loss of its original orchids and reviews. In addition, it contains inherent deficiency aspects, including embarrassing and ancient Libretto when seeing it through a contemporary lens.
Scott Joplin's Treemonisha – A conceptualization of music
There have been at least three main efforts in recent years to re -imagine the work of the twenty -first century, including this ready -made, which was developed by a creative team of black artists from New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto, and developed and produced by the volcano. The work was first shown in Toronto in June 2023 at the Luminato Festival and features black and orchestra.
The first show in this American production, titled “Scott Joplin's Treemonisha – a music re -vision”, was presented Thursday evening at the Harris and Dance Harris Theater, with another show on Sunday.
In short, it is a bit of disappointment. While there are some sections of the heavy division, strong individual performance and good dance, the work is not fully compatible. It is a little incomplete, and its full potential has not been completely fulfilled.
It is important to clarify that this is not rebuilding; It is also not an attempt to present this opera in its original form. Instead, this production contains Libretto, written by Leah Simone-Bower and Cherlyl L
Treemonisha (Soprano Neema Bickersteth, right) was appointed leader of both Freedmen and Maroons named Person Alltalk (Bass-Baritone Marvin Lowe, from the left) and her fiancé (Tenor Ashley Faaatoalia) and others singing their approval in “Scott Joplin's Treemonisha-A Regis Reacting.
In addition, the work is characterized by a new format and arrangements written by Grammy Montgomery, Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2021-24, and Janena Norbouth. (Sphinx Virtuosi recently performed the offer from this work on the tour.)
This opens on “Treemonisha” during the Civil War, but mostly in the eighties of the nineteenth century are held along the borders of Texas-Kenasan, with a focus on a long hostility among the men of the liberated (liberated slaves) and Maron (the descendants of the Africans who fled from slavery). Before Treemonisha is about to be married, you learn that she is an orphan and begins to discover her true identity and eventually revealed the driving skills she did not know.
Although production lasts nearly two and a half hours, which is much longer than the original, which appears to be recorded in about 90 minutes, some storytelling feels rushing and raging. The inauguration, for example, when a woman who is slaughtered with her new baby (Treemonisha) is hidden in a tree and then he is shot and killed, suddenly happens and mixed that it will be impossible to know what happened without a summary of the program.
It is better to describe this work as an operetta, and it often has a feeling of light in the early twentieth century. Ragtime elements, especially in the high -end, attractive final, “slow clouds”, can be heard, which is the only one in this version of “Treemonisha” in which Joplin's words are completely, but the composer was clearly seeking to bypass this style.
It also mixed in the Blues, the Gospel and even a wonderful example of the male vocal quad, which has a long history of black musical traditions, and added Montgomery and Norpoth to that musical soup in its degrees, which is performed by a group of 10 pieces led by Jerry Lin Johnson.
To excite the background of the background and the history of the Maron grandparents in Chapter 2, for example, Montgomery and Norpoth are equivalent to marimba, West Africa, and Kora, which is a ritual tool in the west played by Tunde JegeDE.
They also add more contemporary elements, bringing a kind of Whitney Houston Pop, for example, to the individual of the spirit of the birth of Trimonsha, but this diversity of old and new methods does not wander completely to all comfortable and musically holding.
The 20 -member actors' crew, including eight managers, are largely effective, as Soprano Nima Birkersta (Trimmasha) is impressive on production with pure singing, chrisians and acting style. Other contestants include Cedric Berry (Zodzerick), with his expressive and easy -to -theater method, and Sate (Nana), a Toronto -based rock singer in a graceful and high -power style.
