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REVIEW: EXQUISITE OPERA AT ST ANN’S WAREHOUSE BOOK OF MOUNTAIN & SEAS
St Ann’s Warehouse and Beth Morrison Projects in association with PROTOTYPE: Opera I Theatre I Now and Trinity Church Wall Street choir presented a uniquely poignant opera based on four ancient Chinese myths.
Each story is honed into poetic perfection by composer Huang Ruo who created the libretto and music and directed by ever-innovative director Basil Twist with aplomb. Using expert puppetry manifested into many machinations, the stories unfold elegantly from this ancient collection of myths. One stellar artwork became many props and characters. Canny, tactically built driftwood molded to morph in each majestic story, illustrating the incandescent spirit behind clipped musical Chinese words, primarily ancient, but some new ones, created solely for this opera.
Each allegory was an homage to the natural world; harmoniously blending great chorales with physical movement reflecting the ocean, air, animals, and the sun in fluid synchronicity. Book of Mountain and Seas is a multimedia event that includes twelve vocalists, six puppeteers, and two percussionists. Based on a collection of early legends initially transcribed in the 4th century BC. Abstract and immortal, these pieces explain humanity’s aspiration to understand itself. Each allegory describes our world and the struggles we have within ourselves…
