‘Song From the Uproar’ @ Verdigris Ensemble
Photos by Richard Hill Photography and Patricia Yakesch
—Jan Farrington
Innovative vocal group Verdigris Ensemble (though “vocal” doesn’t quite cover the company’s proclivity for works that combine music, theatre, and striking visual elements) moved onto the arena stage at Theatre Three last week with performances of Grammy-nominated composer Missy Mazzoli’s unusual and compelling chamber opera Song From the Uproar—the historically-based saga of a young woman who trades Switzerland for North Africa (Algeria, to be specific) after a series of personal tragedies leave her alone and adrift.
Like many before and after her, young Isabelle Eberhardt finds a new life on the ocean “waves” of the desert—and new human connections that revive her soul. As a reference point, her story begins on either side of the year 1900. Mazzoli researched deeply into Eberhardt’s life, and teamed with New York-based librettist Royce Vavrek as the piece developed.
Directed by Claire Choquette (both a singer and an opera stage director) and sung by the vocalists of Verdigris—led by excellent mezzo-soprano Kayla Nanto as Isabelle—Mazzoli’s music (I want to call it a song cycle) has a haunting atonality that reflects Eberhardt’s encounters with the unfamiliar landscapes she travels. Excerpts pulled from her letters and diaries (projected on wide, rafter-hung cloth panels) sketch out her reactions to the experience, while the songs themselves, lovely and oblique, create emotional links to her new life and hopes. (Quotes were compiled by Choquette; scenic design is by Justin Locklear with evocative lighting from Kyle Harris.)
A small and expertly-curated orchestral group (conducted at perfect volume by Verdigris artistic director Sam Brukhman) plays onstage from behind more hanging panels; instruments include a flute and clarinet that infuse the music with subtle Near Eastern tones and color. (Bell-clear sound is by Joshua Nguyen.) To augment action on stage, films captured and transformed into animated line drawings show other, sometimes connected, moments in Eberhardt’s life. (Projections and video work by Courtney Ware.)
Nanto’s rich, resonant voice is enthralling, and beautifully accompanied by the voices of the ensemble—who also prove to be nimble (if wordless) actors, and terrific whirlers of cloth.
The song titles are almost as mesmeric as the music itself: “This World Within Me Is Too Small,” “100 Names For God,” “Barrel at the Breast,” “Here Where Footprints Erase the Graves.” It’s a pity Song from the Uproar didn’t run longer—it’s sad to praise it, and then have to admit, “It’s closed.” But look ahead: once the Verdigris Ensemble is on your radar, you’re likely to keep a close watch for what’s next.
WHEN: February 18-March 2, 2025
WHERE: Norma Young Arena Stage, Theatre Three, Dallas
WEB: verdigrismusic.org (visit site for upcoming events)
