July 31, 2014
by Michael J. Moran
American composer Jack Beeson, scenario writer Richard
Plant, and librettist Kenward Elmslie first published their opera “Lizzie
Borden” in 1965. A new version for chamber orchestra with orchestration by Todd
Bashore and dramaturgy by John Conklin was commissioned and debuted by Boston
Lyric Opera in November 2013. The same forces recently presented it at
Tanglewood.
Although the real Lizzie Borden was acquitted of killing her
father and stepmother with an ax in 1892 at the family home in Fall River, MA,
suspicions of her guilt still persist. The stark and stylized BLO production,
performed in 90 minutes without an intermission, built a mood of almost
unbearable tension from early scenes of family life to the murders just before
the end.
The orchestra was situated at stage right in Ozawa Hall. Set
designer Andrew Cavanaugh Holland placed a table with four chairs downstage
center, and most of the action was movement of chairs around the otherwise
empty stage by the six cast members. Stage director Christopher Alden provided
some comic relief by using the floor as a bed for Lizzie’s father, Andrew
Borden, and his wife, Abigail, and the table as a piano and lounging area for
Abigail.
Soprano Caroline Worra played Abigail to the hilt, garnering
much appreciative laughter from the enthusiastic audience. Bass-baritone Daniel
Mobbs as Andrew, soprano Chelsea Basler as Lizzie’s younger sister Margret,
baritone David McFerrin as Margret’s ship captain fiancé, and tenor Omar Najmi
as the pastor of the Borden family church all sang with clarity, focus, and
strong characterization. But the evening belonged to mezzo-soprano Heather
Johnson as Lizzie, whose heartrending and harrowing account of the tragic
heroine won sympathy as well as horror for her actions.
BLO music director David Angus led a tight, intense
performance, and the reduced orchestration highlighted both the astringency of
the often violent score and the tenderness of its rare lyrical interludes.
Members of the Voices Boston children’s chorus sang with spirit from the first
balcony.
Projected titles and a post-show panel discussion featuring
the composer’s daughter further enhanced this rare opportunity to hear an American
operatic masterpiece.