'Passions' drenches Glimmerglass audience in sorrow
July 30, 2013
Linda Loomis
Members of the audience for "Passions" at Glimmerglass Festival are compelled to confront pain. They stand with
a mother as she watches the ritualistic murder of her son, and they witness the gross indifference of a community
that allows a poverty-stricken child to freeze to death in the streets.
With subject matter so distressing, only a first-rate production could sustain the level of intensity needed to evoke
authentic emotional responses from viewers, and Glimmerglass personnel and performers delivered just that July
29: an outstanding interpretation of both productions on its double bill.
Linking Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's 1736 setting of a 13th Century hymn, "Stabat Mater," with David Lang's 2008
Pulitzer-Prize winning "The Little Match Girl Passion," Artistic Director Francesca Zambello addresses the timeless
and universal human emotions associated with physical and emotional suffering.
First on the bill at Alice Busch Opera Theater is "Stabat Mater," with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and
soprano Nadine Sierra as soloists. Sierra's melancholic undertones and her dramatic presentation illuminate the
agony suffered by Jesus on the Cross. Mary, his mother, is the specific subject of the ancient hymn, but the pathos
Sierra expresses extends to all who suffer. Costanzo brings deep vulnerability to his role, creating an unsettling
sense of tension as he reaches into the highest registers, pleading to personally experience the pain of Jesus and
Mary.
"Pierce my heart." " Let me be wounded." "Do not deny--allow me to mourn with you." The poignant text is sung in
Latin with English translations projected above the stage, but the direction and choreography of Jessica Lang and
the performance of the dancers are so powerful that translation is almost superfluous. Lang and conductor
Speranza Scappucci make every inflection, every gesture, every dynamic variation contribute to the overall impact
of the production.
Gray and other muted colors are used in sets and costuming, with a huge, simple bolt of cloth creating a shroud,
veil, grave clothes, and pall as it is, at various times, shielding Mary, wrapping around dancers or being draped atop
the giant cross, which shifts throughout the performance, offering different perspectives on the torture and death
that the 13th Century hymnist yearns to share.
After a 25-minute intermission, the Glimmerglass Festival Children's Chorus sings David Lang's "When We Were
Children," a companion piece to "The Little Match Girl Passion." The passion is based on Hans Christian
Andersen's heartrending tale of an abused, impoverished child, whose pure spirit and unflagging hope overcome
the scorn of her community and deliver her, through transforming grace, to heaven. Lang's composition is formatted
to reflect Bach's "Passion of St. Matthew" and is derived from the Gospel text itself.
David Moody conducts the children's chorus, percussionists and vocal ensemble, which is comprised of Julia
Mintzer, James Michael Porter, Lisa Williamson, and Christian Zaremba--all members of the festival's Young Artists
Program. Moody calls forth a nuanced performance, one in which the composer's innovative use of vocalization for
texture and color, along with minimal accompaniment from percussionists, conveys an immense range of emotion
and situation--from agony to solace; from physical pain to spiritual transformation.
Ridiculed by the community and unable to make a sale, the girl lights one of her matches to give herself a spark of
warmth on a frigid New Year's Eve. When she does, she receives a comforting vision that lasts only as long as the
flame burns. After several flames and visions, she sees a shooting star, foreshadowing her death. With her final
match, a vision of her beloved grandmother appears to shepherd her into heaven. Christ-like, the match girl cries
out in Aramaic, "Eli - Eli - my God...."
Only after her death do the townspeople notice her and, in sympathy, heap their coats upon her corpse, a futile,
belated action. "Rest soft," they chant, unaware of the rapturous visions that had mercifully been given to the dying
The Glimmerglass Festival | PO Box 191, Cooperstown, NY 13326 | (607) 547-2255 | www.glimmerglass.org
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girl. With Zambello's meticulous direction, Lang's setting of the passion forces viewers to examine the morality of
their own actions and consider their relationships with those who are rejected, marginalized or excluded.
Primarily monochromatic costumes and simple sets with subdued lighting create a somber mood, with the same
team for both productions: Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, sets; Beth Goldenberg, costumes, and Mark McCullough,
lighting.
Both programs in "Passions" received extended, well-deserved applause from the nearly full house. It will be
repeated Aug. 3, 9.18 and 22, and other productions, including "Camelot," also continue through August. Tickets
start at $26 and may be reserved at 607-547-2258.
The Glimmerglass Festival | PO Box 191, Cooperstown, NY 13326 | (607) 547-2255 | www.glimmerglass.org
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