Des Moines Metro Opera’s unsurpassingly ravishing production of Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger has joined the ranks of the finest performances I have ever experienced.
This seldom performed masterpiece does not tell a story in a traditional way but rather explores complex issues of the essence of God, personal goals, spiritual fulfillment, physical pleasure, and the journey to emotional fulfillment. A curious Shepherd appears to King Roger at a Mass and subsequently disrupts his kingdom and leads the court, including his wife Roxana into a world of sensuality and personal awareness, causing Roger to renounce his throne and embrace a new path. It is a gorgeous rumination that intertwines its three major characters in complicated confrontations that ultimately leave each a changed person.
David Neely conducted with consummate control of his vast forces, the resplendent orchestra shining brightly whether in powerful ensembles or during brilliant exposed solo passages. The chorus of the amassed Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artists outdid themselves under Lisa Hasson’s inspired direction, and Ted Brimeyer’s Youth Chorus was perfection. Maestro Neely skillfully crafted an arc to each scene that created an overpowering cumulative effect. Not long into Act I, as the tension builds and a scenic coup de theatre dazzles our eyes, Neely built the crescendo to an unbearable tension, and then everyone burst into a choral passage that thrillingly engulfed the theatre. I had chills up and down my spine for at least fifteen seconds. This was virtuosic music-making of the highest order.
Chas Rader-Schieber directed with limitless imagination and incomparable control. His concept begins in the opulent Sicilian court of King Roger, and then, slowly at first, meaningfully begins marching forward in time to become contemporary. Mr. Rader-Schieber’s stage pictures were always fascinating models of invention, and he moved his forces around in wonderfully considered patterns. Perhaps his greatest achievement was that he developed absolutely fully formed characters from the entire cast. When the audience is six feet away, absolute honesty is required and to a person, the massive cast was engaged.
It is also to his credit that he made Act II’s abundant sensuality so alluring and inevitable. I was highly impressed that the cast never flinched from the considerable homo-erotic under pinning of the writing and staging. If Twyla Tharp and Mark Morris had a love child it might be Isaac Martin Lerner who provided stylish and evocative choreography that was all pulsing limbs, and ethereal lifts, and carnal undulations. The dancers were exceptionally gifted and added immeasurably to the mystery and mayhem.
Scenic designer Jimmy Stubbs has devised no end of mind-blowing visual effects. The ornate church interior of Act I included choristers as “statues” of saints perched on pedestals midway atop pillars, an elaborate throne, candelabras, and an ornate altar with columns that rises majestically from the trap. Act II devolves into a period cocktail party with scaffolding and iron gates, while Act III strips all trappings away, with only a ruined, upturned throne left down center, and a black platform up center, underscoring Roger’s moral condition. And then. . .it magically rains a purifying rain after which a giant white sun rises, framing Roger as he ponders all that has been revealed to him. Jaw-dropping and masterful, indeed.
Robert Perdziola has provided unimaginably luxurious costumes for the start, and they too, devolve into simpler attire over time, until during the bacchanalia when clothing comes off and becomes more sparse right up until the end, with Roger naked but for black boxer briefs. Special mention must go to the glitzy, peek-a-boo show costume that the heretofore simple Shepherd wears, to further bewitch Roger. Brilliant. Connie Yun’s crackerjack, wide-ranging lighting design was awesome in its scope. The star effect on the backdrop, suggesting the expanse of the universe was haunting. As all festival long, Brittany V.A. Rappise’s hair and makeup design was top drawer.
Alexander Birch Elliott was a colossal King Roger II. Having greatly admired his stylish baritone on several other occasions, I was not prepared for the burnished power he unleashed in this challenging title role. It was potent, stentorian singing when required, but also beautifully modulated, pulsating, and intimate on more introspective occasions. I was privileged to have heard the great Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecień in this signature role on two occasions, and I can securely say that we have found his successor: Alexander Birch Elliott, Roger the Great, has arrived.
Lydia Katarina was a vibrant queen Roxana, appearing elegant and fetching, and singing with poise and security. Her gleaming soprano has great appeal, and whether onstage or off (she sings lot in the wings), her assertive, floated upper register gave considerable pleasure. Although her stage time is less than Roger’s, Ms. Katarina was a memorable presence, in that she is more receptive to differed philosophical points of view than her husband.
With Christopher Sokolowsi in the transformative role of the Shepherd, you have a perfect marriage of artist and assignment. Physically, he is lanky and boyish, with golden locks, and he is completely at ease in his skin (of which we see quite a lot). Mr. Sokoloski also brings a polished Heldentenor to the role, which he deploys with craft and musicality. He is able to modulate his tone to be insinuating one moment, sweety seductive the next, and powerfully declamatory the next. He gives a mesmerizing performance you cannot look away from, and given how difficult this is to cast, he can surely now claim the role as his own.
As the King’s aide Edrisi, Lucas Van Lierop was a soothing sympathetic presence, and his luminous, effortlessly produced tenor made me wish he had been given more to sing. Ben Strong’s brief moments as the Archbishop showed off a sizable, well-focused bass-baritone; Margaret Macaira Shannon’s secure, pointed soprano informed the character of the Deaconess;
the Soprano Chorus Soloist was well served by Eliza Lucnya’s bell-like, distinctive instrument; and the Tenor Chorus Soloist was taken by Cameron Howard with his bright, vibrant tenor.
King Roger was an overwhelming success, and I mean it when I say:
There is simply no other company in the world that could have created such an intimate, overpowering Gesamtkunstwerk with such a fever pitch high level of artistry. Full stop. Opera is a fusion of so many disciplines, and it takes a consummate degree of quality control to meld so many disparate talents together. But that is just what Des Moines Metro Opera consistently does, opera after opera after opera, after year after year after year.
You know how you sometimes experience something so stunningly beautiful (a vista, a painting) that you well up with joyful tears? As I got in the car to leave after this production, I realized the magnitude of the exquisite achievement I had just seen. . .and I cried half of the way home. Bravissimi tutti.
James Sohre
King Roger
Music by Karol Szymanowski
Libretto by Karol Szymanowski and Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewics
Cast and Production Staff:
Archbishop: Ben Strong; Tenor Chorus Solo: Cameron Howard; Deaconess: Margaret Macaira Shannon; King Roger II: Alexander Birch Elliott; Edrisi: Lucas Van Lierop; Roxana: Lydia Katarina; Shepherd: Christopher Sokolowski; Soprano Chorus Soloist: Eliza Lucnya.
Conductor: David Neely; Director: Chas Rader-Schieber; Scenic Designer: Jimmy Stubbs; Costume Designer: Robert Perdziola; Lighting Designer: Connie Yun; Hair and Makeup Designer: Brittany V.A. Rappise; Choreographer: Isaac Martin Lerner; Chorus Director: Lisa Hasson; Youth Chorus Director: Ted Brimeyer
Top image: Act II; Christopher Sokolowski as the Shepherd with Chorus
All photos © Cory Weaver