Nathan Davis’ “Dance Opera” Without the Visuals

Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto (photograph by David Michalek, from the October 23, 2015 BAM blog post)

Near the end of last year, New Focus Recordings released a CD of “Hagoromo,” a dance opera, written for dancers Wendy Whelan, Jock Soto, vocal soloists Katalin Karolyi and Peter Tantsits, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and a puppet troupe. The CD was based on recordings made when the work was first performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Next Wave Festival in November of 2015. I have fond memories of Next Wave, since I was there when Harvey Lichtenstein launched it in November of 1981 with a performance of Philip Glass’ opera Satyagraha. Indeed, as a San Francisco resident, I have Next Wave to thank for introducing me to the George Coates Performance Works, its resident composer Paul Dresher, and performers such as Rinde Eckert.

The thing about Next Wave programming was that it never seemed to allow for a middle ground. One could leave a performance thoroughly exhilarated or hopelessly disgruntled, but one never seemed to walk out with only ambivalence. Looking back on it all, I feel that what mattered most was the “total theater” approach behind the selection and presentation of events. From that point of view, “Hagoromo” was right up BAM’s alley.

However, if one takes that observation as a premise, it follows logically that one cannot evaluate a “total theater” production on the basis of only a fraction of its “totality.” In the absence of any of the visual elements, I am afraid that my reaction for Davis’ score fell somewhere between ambivalent and disgruntled. Listening only to the music, I found it very difficult not to keep reflecting of the music that Benjamin Britten had composed in 1964 for the first of his three “Parables for Church Performance,” “Curlew River.” Britten’s score was compelling not only for its musical values but also for how he used his music to unfold a narrative in a ritualistic setting.

The problem with “Hagoromo” may have been that Director David Michalek had a clearer command over conveying a narrative that could be traced back to both Western and Asian folk sources than did Brendan Pelsue, who provided Davis with the libretto for his vocal resources. According to the booklet that accompanies the CD, Pelsue adapted his text “from Ezra Pound and other sources.” If one follows the booklet while listening to the CD, one is likely to conclude that the text does not read very well and, as a result, offers little to advance how one listens to either the vocal or the instrumental resources. Those who take listening seriously deserve better than what this recording offers.