Ching's opera described as 'a stroke of genius'(Last of two parts)

The six performances of Jeffrey Ching’s two-act opera “The Orphan” had such a resounding success that an extra night was added, this drawing a full house. Herewith are the rest of the (condensed) reviews.

Adrians Frauke of Thuringer Allgemeine wrote: “The series of premieres at Theater Erfurt does not always produce brilliant results. However, this time, the result is brilliant. It is true, ‘The Orphan’ by Jeffrey Ching is an artificial, contrived and trying piece. But at the same time, this opera is a stroke of genius. (Italics mine). Music theatre, which is steeped in tradition and shaped by rituals, can still amaze and create something completely out of tradition.

“On the stage and in the orchestra pit an amazing scenic and tonal canvas is created under the direction of Jacob Peters-Messer, in which Chinese calligraphy combines with Baroque painting and modern construction design in perfect harmony. In order to conceive this, one needs a composer at home in many cultures, such as Jeffrey Ching.

“The story, of which his seven-language libretto is based, is as polyglot as himself, and was taken up in many countries from the China of the 6th century BC to the era of Goethe. Following this story through time and space, Ching constructed his opera on a strictly logical principle: an epoch and a language were assigned to every character, a musical style was assigned to every scene. One doesn’t have to read the program. The beauty of the music, this incredible, thick and transparent web made of Far Eastern and European elements, is revealed without footnotes. It is incredible because no European composer would ever dare to cite the musical languages of Vivaldi and Rameau and translate them into Chinese as unabashedly as Ching did. Opulence, symbolic power, clarity: music and staging are marked by the same elements.

“You can interpret the opera as a play marked by a deep cultural pessimism: although history progresses, the desire to kill and the lust for revenge will not change. Or you can simply interpret the opera as resounding proof of the cultural links between East and West. ‘The Orphan’ is great music theatre — one of the best operas premiered by Theater Erfurt. (Italics mine.)

“A few in the audience availed of the intermission to escape the murderous scenes and their unaccustomed music. All the rest enthusiastically applauded for a long time, cheering with bravos!”

Jan Kreyfsig of the Thuringische Landeszeitung observed: “‘All suffer execution,’ soberly says the physician Cheng Ying who protects the Orphan from execution, and who transfers the plot — from ancient China and involving among others, Metastasio, Voltaire and Goethe — to our time, by simultaneously translating word for word and through gesture the ariosi, cabalettas and ensembles of the protagonists singing in seven languages.

“In this opulent work of art, Baroque and early Classical forms, from which come the Rameau-based rhythms of the overture and the deceptively realistic imitations of Vivalde and CPE Bach, intersect with the gong-suffused sonorities of Chinese folklore. The 18th century chinoiserie serves the composer as motif for his subtle ‘Baroque meets Beijing’ blend. Ching’s opera reaches magical moments with pulsating quarter — and eighth-tone duets of harp and synthesizer and glass harmonica and electric guitar.

“Within the tension, the chorus generally has a subordinate pantomimic role: It is only in the surreal finale that it sings out loud in a gruesome execution from ancient China. The intestines are taken out of the living body of Dag-Ngans-Kagh — this is staged by Messer with a high degree of abstraction. For every organ — presented by the chorus on a silver platter — Ching composed a unique acoustic color out of a seemingly inexhaustible palette.

“This ‘modern court opera’ is an experience absolutely to be recommended. The composer succeeds in achieving the apparently impossible: an inseparable and effective intertwining of European and Asian tonal idioms, with enigmatic and bewitchingly beautiful results.”

A few quotes on Andion Fernandez as the orphan. From Stefan Amzoll in JungeWelt: “Sung by the great Andion Fernandez — gentle, expressive, utterly broken within.” From Christoph Schulte im Walde in Opernetz: “A truly magnificent voice. She is dramatically present in every second of this tension-filled story.”