CONTENTSCONTRIBUTOR BIOS: Evan Hause, 3 LIVE EVENTS
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Full Comments on Phoenix ParkBy Ilsa Gilbert and David Strickland Phoenix Park (A Poet's Journey) is a moving new American opera that received its world premiere at Theater for the New City in November 2002. With libretto by the Village playwright and poet Ilsa Gilbert and music by composer David Strickland, Phoenix Park, as the title suggests, is about hope rising out of ashes. Set in Dublin over the course of three decades and three generations, the story follows the Poet, Sean, from his wild boyhood to his premature death due to alcoholism. He first appears as a lad whose parents pull him in opposite directions, his Mum toward books and dreams and his Da to work in the family store. Sean retreats from their squabbling to Phoenix Park where, finding sustenance in nature ("Don't you love the green of the park"), he chooses poetry and drink over commerce. At 25, Sean marries Colleen, a drinking companion and Sean Jr. is born soon after. One night alone in a bar, the ghost of Sean's childhood pal, Gavin, appears to him. For the sake of his wife and son, Sean promises to stop drinking. But he cannot. Colleen, herself reformed, finally takes Sean Jr. away and the Poet sinks into a drunken despair and, as Gavin looks on, ends his life. In the final of four scenes, Colleen is surprised to see Sean attending his own funeral. "Sean, you old fraud" she scolds. But he has returned to the living for a lesson in forgiveness. They pledge their love and Sean finds peace as Mum, Da, Sean Jr. and Colleen bid him farewell. Phoenix Park tells a weighty story, dealing with the reconciliation of opposites: life and death, love and betrayal, remorse and forgiveness. It is touched throughout with lightness and humor and shows life ultimately redeemed by the power of love. Mr. Strickland's score uses a small ensemble, including authentic Gaelic instruments, to great effect. The music is rich in variety, ranging from echoes of Irish folk songs to lush arias supported by complex and satisfying harmonies. The performers one and all do well by the material. Commissioned by Downtown Music Productions, Phoenix Park was produced and conducted with flair by Mimi Stern-Wolfe and staged with fluidity by Tom O'Horgan who also directed Ms. Gilbert's 1993 opera "The Bundle Man". After a successful run of performances last November, hopefully there will soon be another opportunity for audiences to catch this profound and intriguing opera. - Richard Simson 24 February 2003 Experiencing Ireland first hand through travel brought a great reward of understanding my own heritage and family. When I saw Phoenix Park with libretto by Ilsa Gilbert, I once again experienced the flavor and reality of the Irish soul. The well developed characters caught the dichotomy of the Irish..a sparkle in the eye, quick sharp-tongued wit with a good dose of heavy heartedness about every day life. Ma, the ever-vigilant keeper of the family, attempts to control the lives of her son and husband only wanting a better life for them all. Of course, this could be said of any mother, yet the Irish intensity that goes with a hard life fraught with alcoholism bubbles as an undercurrent here. Ireland has long had to face the emigration of their youth leaving for a better life and solid jobs. The older generation is left carrying the torch of Irish tradition. Ilsa Gilbert caught this fragment of Irish life using the pub as the center of family and community life. One could feel and smell the heavy cigarette smoke lingering in the air, hear the conversation and knowing all along that one could sit in the pub to escape. I felt as if I had returned to Ireland if only for 2 hours during this opera! Kathleen Shimeta, mezzo soprano Two months after the pleasure of attending one of the premiere performances of Phoenix Park (at the Theater of the New City, in New York City), I find it is Scene Two which has etched itself most deeply into my memory. Set in an Irish pub, Strickland musically portrays the patrons' sober misery and drunken high spirits by evoking a hornpipe dance complete with pennywhistle and bodran. Initially, I believed the indigenous music served merely to establish an appropriate atmosphere. But as the scene progressed, it became clear that the unpretentious folk dance held the far more august responsibilities of generating major thematic and rhythmic elements, governing the motivic development, propelling the dramatic action along, and most importantly offering us a penetrating and particularly Irish glimpse into the joys and woes of the characters portrayed on stage. Requiring only 10 instrumentalists, 6 singers, and minimal sets, Phoenix Park is well within the abilities of most regional opera companies and college opera departments, and is a worthy addition to the relatively small repertoire of chamber operas. Bruce Lazarus, composer
Dear Maestra Stern-Wolfe and Administration of Downtown Chamber & Opera Players, I attended one of your PHOENIX PARK performances this past November and was duly impressed by what was a tour-de-force for all involved. What a powerful piece, and intense performances all around. Please excuse me for having taken so long to have congratulated you for a memorable night at the theatre! I also wanted to contact you for other purposes, as I'm starting work on a piece myself and was wondering if there might be anyway to suggest it to your production plans. As my good friend Joan Eubank (Colleen in PHOENIX PARK) has requested some work to perform on a recital she's doing in 2004, I intend to definitely have two soprano arias from the work finished within a few months. If there is any such opportunity for this work to see the light of stage within a few seasons, please let me know. Thank you for your time and attention, and hope to hear from you soon! doug han, composer Rarely have I been as deeply moved as I was by the production of Phoenix Park last November. To tell an a classic story of family conflict, creativity versus practicality,early friendships and a longing to return to a simpler time, and the effect of drink on everybody concerned is not easy, and to express that story in music, with the flavor of Irish origins is not easy, but librettist Ilsa Gilbert and composer David Strickland have created a work of haunting beauty. They seem to speak with one voice and one heart. Each of the characters is a real person, and has his own mucical voice. It would be easy to point out endless examples of beautiful text setting, but I think it's great strength is it's architecture. Starting with the funeral of the young poet immediately makes the listener curious about his story, and having the first music the accappella chant prepares the ear for the horn solo later in the opera, and extraordinary sound of the male soprano. Starting with the oldest of the 3 generations involved makes the cyclical story clear, and the end of the opera inevitable and satisfying. Writing about Phoenix Park 2 months after playing some rehearsals and seeing the production I am once again involved, inspired and moved. Elizabeth Rodgers "An evocative, sometimes haunting piece" Mark Grant, composer I so enjoyed "Phoenix Park" (A Poet's Journey). Excellent performances by the cast and a beautiful marriage of text and music all contributed to the dramatic purpose, and drew me in. Debra Kaye, Composer |