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Regional Reviews: Minneapolis/St. Paul The Manchurian Candidate Also see Arthur's reviews of Death Tax, Huck Finn, Into the Woods, and Mary Poppins
Yet, The Manchurian Candidate works, indeed works very well. Commissioned by the Minnesota Opera as part of its New Works Initiative, in a recent brief run, it was an exciting blend of music, performance and staging. Perhaps, most exciting was the staging, which utilized jumbotron screens mounted above the playing area to show close-ups of documents, images linked to interior thoughts, and live video coverage as characters stand in press conferences, hero homecoming ceremonies, and political conventions. The effect created an immediacy and verisimilitude to the unfolding events. Scene changes occurred with screens sliding up and down, left and right, and set flats swiftly and silently moved in and out, as characters exited and entered, creating a cinematic feeling of flow that connected each link in the suspenseful chain of events. The story begins in 1951. The Korean War is full bore, and the United States fully infected by the Red Scare. A group of U.S. soldiers captured in Korea are in Manchuria, where we witness a demonstration of brainwashing that has made one of the captives, Sergeant Raymond Shaw, into the perfect assassin, able to kill without hesitation, left with no memory of the act and therefore no guilt or tell-tale behavior. Another captive officer, Captain Ben Marco, is brainwashed to nominate Raymond for a medal for bravery when they return to the states. After Raymond is given a hero's welcome in New York City, he immediately comes into conflict with his mother, Eleanor Iselin, and step-father, Senator Johnny Iselin. Mrs. Iselin is in firm control of her husband's political career, which she steers well to the right, and she plans to use her son's fame as a war hero to boost their cause. Raymond sides with the liberals, so much that he takes a job working for a left-wing publication owned by Mrs. Iselin's arch-enemy, Holborn Gaines. Raymond has the opportunity to rekindle a romance with Jocelyn Jordan, daughter of the leader of the left wing of the party, Senator Thomas Jordan. At the same time, Marco begins to have dreams that relive his experience in Manchuria, and suspects that something sinister has infected both him and Raymond. Mrs. Iselin is determined to advance her husband's (and her own) stature in the party and to ensure that right wing she champions will prevail. These three plot strands—Raymond's hopes for happiness with Jocelyn, Marco's frenetic race to unravel the deadly mystery, and Mrs. Iselin's brutal quest for power—reach a climax at the party's convention where the candidates for President and Vice President are to be chosen. Minnesota Opera commissioned Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts to compose the score for The Manchurian Candidate. This was a homecoming for Puts, who earned the Pulitzer for his 2011 Minnesota Opera commission Silent Night. That told the story of the Christmas Armistice of 1914, illuminating how peaceful hearts can endure in wartime. The Manchurian Candidate is its polar opposite: a story of hearts laced with violence and greed that infiltrate peacetime. The score is intense throughout, with themes that allude to jangled nerves and seconds ticking away. It is continuous in moving the story forward, providing rising and falling crests to carry the libretto. Conducted by Michael Christie, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra furnished rich and crystalline sounds that never overpowered the human voices. While this is not a score that produces memorable melodies that may easily stand alone, it is an exactly right complement to the narrative. Mark Campbell's libretto follows the familiar plotline, and maintains clarity through frequent scene changes. In combination with the music, we understand the anxieties and hopes carried by Raymond and by Marco. Mrs. Iselin is given an aria near the opera's end to reveal the source of her ambitions and anger; however, given her thoroughly evil portrayal up to this point, her cries are too little, too late. This is not to say that Brenda Harris, as Eleanor Iselin, gave us too little. She was remarkable, both in voice and in dramatization, as she created a character who will allow nothing to block her determination, who uses her wiles to get what she believes in, and who has erased any lines between belief in her cause and belief in her own omnipotence. Equally dazzling was Matthew Worth as Raymond, possessing a beautiful baritone and acting prowess that conveyed hairpin turns between anger, anxiety and—briefly—happiness. Andrew Lovato impressed as Marco, his bass-baritone used effectively to probe into the circumstances that are spiraling toward calamity unless he can figure out the riddle in time. His rising tension is leavened by good humor and romantic feelings as he bonds with Rosie, a woman he meets on the train who stands by his side throughout the debacle. As Rosie, Adriana Zabala added a bit of comic relief, and offered reassurance to keep the sense of anxiety from overloading the work's emotional circuit. Angela Mortellaro as Jocelyn and Andrew Lovato as Young Raymond (in flashbacks, depicting the start of their romance), each brought lovely voices and a chemistry that made their characters' relationship feel believable and essential. Christopher Job as Senator Thomas Jordan, Will Liverman as Corporal Andrew Hanley, Victoria Vargas as Mrs. Low made major contributions in smaller roles. The brilliantly functional set design by Robert Brill worked in partnership with Japhy Weidman's highly focused lighting to create spaces that conveyed not only place but atmosphere. Jessica Jahn's costumes perfectly captured the Eisenhower era, and the full skirts worn by Mrs. Iselin gave her the mark of an empress. C. Andrew Mayer integrated sound as another living element of this high-sensory production. Minnesota Opera pulled no stops in mounting this brilliant new work. The Manchurian Candidate deserves to be embraced by the larger opera world. Not only are the artistic elements all first rate, but the story of subverting principles in pursuit of political power may well be a cautionary tale for our times. The Manchurian Candidate had its world premiere March 7-15, 2015 at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington Street, Saint Paul, MN, as a Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Project. Music: Kevin Puts; Libretto: Mark Campbell; Stage Director: Kevin Newbury; Conductor: Michael Christie; Set Designer: Robert Brill: Costume Designer: Jessica Jahn: Lighting Designer: Japhy Weidman; Projections and Video Designer: Sean Nieuwenhuis; Sound Design: C. Andrew Mayer; Director of Photography/Camera Operator: James Matthew Daniel; Wig and Make-Up Design: Jason Allen; Chorusmaster: Robert Ainsley; Assistant Director: Alison Moritz; Assistant Conductor: Aaron Breid: Repetiteurs: Jonathan Brandani and Geoffrey Loff; Production Stage Manager: Kerry Masek Cast: Robb Askloff (partygoer, agent), Anna Biggs (The Nominee's Daughter), Leonardo Capalbo (Captain Ben Marco), Stephen Cunningham (Secretary of Defense), Gerard Michael D'Emilio (Holborn Gaines), Kelsey Stark D'Emilio (Mrs. Zilkov), Benjamin Dutcher (Private Bobby Lembeck), Brenda Harris (Eleanor Iselin), Christopher Job (Senator Thomas Jordan), John Robert Lindsey (TV Announcer, partygoer), Will LIverman (Corporal Andrew Hanley), Andrew Lovato (Young Raymond), Joel Mathias (Dr. Yen Lo), Angela Mortellaro (Jocelyn Jordan), Cooper Nolan (Major General Bollinger), Matthew Opitz (partygoer, agent), Rick Penning (agent), Shannon Prickett (The Nominee's Wife), Lauren Stepka (partygoer), Daniel Sumegi (Senator Johnny Iselin), Victoria Vargas (Mrs. Lowe), Claire Walsh (The Candidate's Daughter), David Walton (Private Ed Mavole), Matthew Worth (Sergeant Raymond Shaw), Adriana Zabala (Rosie Chayney), Christian Zaremba (General Tracy), Philip Zawisza (The Nominee).
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