Nashville Opera is:
”Shining’ a Light on Horror in Opera
Ghosts, goblins, and ghouls are old friends of the opera scene. Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart, Faust by Charles Gunuod, The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten, and Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito are but a few examples of operas including elements of the supernatural. The Shining, by Composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, takes not merely a step further, but leaps into the world of the supernatural. Based on the novel by Steven King, The Shining, tells one of America’s most well-known horror stories. Jack Torrance, husband, father, writer, teacher, and alcoholic, takes a job as winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a place where family trauma and malevolent spirits run rampant. When I heard that Nashville Opera was to put on two performances of The Shining, it was –to my shame– the first time I had heard of the opera. At first I wondered how it would be possible to stage an opera filled with the frightening scenes and violence that many of us associate with The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick, but after thinking it over, it made perfect sense to me; the novel naturally lends itself to opera. The horror of being taken over by something foreign, whether that be alcohol or the spirits of the Overlook Hotel, combined with the generational trauma Jack is trying hard not to impart on his family results in the perfect combination of operatic elements.
The stellar storytelling of Mark Campbell, combined with the use of screens, and of course, effective music, add a surreal quality to the performance. Barry Steele, Nashville opera’s scenic/video designer, worked hard to create an immersive experience for the audience and allowed for seamless set transitions. One of the most effective uses of the screen was to show the spirits of the hotel possessing Jack. White ghosts circle around him, before vanishing inside him. After a disturbing overture, the opera begins with an idyllic view of the mountains. The music is sweet, harmonious, and a seemly perfect family enters the stage ready to start a new life. The orchestra sets the mood through dissonant harmonies as things quickly dissolve into disjunct intervals, parallel fifths, and unconventional rhythms as we follow Jack and his family. As their relationships, mirroring the music, deteriorate along with Jacks resolve, so does the music’s tonality.
Each character has a different reaction to the hotel. Jack is in denial, Danny is scared but curious, and Wendy is weary. Robert Wesley Mason brings Jack to life, trauma included. He plays an emotionally distraught, intense character, bringing him to life with vivid detail and mannerisms. He portrays Jack’s guilt and yearning for a new life while still showing his past through rough mannerisms. Still, Jack is truly trying to improve. One of my favorite moments watching Mason perform occurred when Jack attacked Danny. Jack begins limping in the same manner as his own father, while attacking Danny. Like the novel, the opera gives insight into Jack’s past which we get hints of in flashbacks; the most prevalent of which being a memory of Jack as a child, being hit by his own father. Jack’s father in turn becomes one of the specters who haunts him.
Danny, played by Lukas Goodfriend, is set apart from the beginning, unlike the other members of his family. As a victim of abuse, his mother is overprotective of him and his father battles his own demons. Danny sees things no one else does, he hears things no one else hears, and, most importantly, he has abilities that no one besides Hallorann, the hotel’s cook, possesses, namely, the shining. Danny is the only cast member who does not sing; his dialogue is spoken. It is only when the spirits of the hotel send their messages through Danny that we hear song. I could not mention the spirits of the hotel without mentioning the Nashville opera chorus. Though backstage throughout the opera, the opera chorus added an element of the otherworldly to Saturday night’s performance. Communicating in shrill, urgent voices. Music also plays an important role in Hallorann’s character, played by Kevin Deas. The cook is the protective older mentor that Danny needed in his father during their time at the Overlook Hotel. Hallorann’s rich voice and warm presence on stage cuts through the haunting atmosphere and bring the opera back to tonality during his aria in the epilogue, reassuring Danny that he can make it on his own.
At first, I had reservations about Wendy; she seemed too naggy, too overprotective of Danny, but as the opera unfolded, I changed my mind, her intuition is almost as strong as her son’s. She senses immediately that their new start is bad news for Jack. Living with someone in the throes of addiction is hard. It’s hard to see someone you love waste away, becoming possessed by their vices. It’s hard to know when to help and when to let go. Wendy is an example of strength and unconditional love for her son and for Jack. She shows her staunch loyalty to her family throughout and especially to her husband in her aria “I never stopped loving you”. She even tries to go back for Jack when, in a moment of clarity, Jack sends them away and saves his family from the Overlook Hotel.
The Shining was a great choice for the beginning of October, with a poignant message and good music combined. I can’t help but hope for a rendition of Dr. Sleep next, but Giacomo Puccini’s La fanciulla del west (The Girl of the Golden West) will just have to do!
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Sarah Queener is a soprano currently based in Middle Tennessee. Her interest in music began at a young age, starting with taking piano lessons. She later transferred her musical interests to pursuing voice and earned her bachelor’s in Vocal Performance. She currently resides in the Murfreesboro area and is a second-year vocal performance master’s student at Middle Tennessee State University.
