If mom is not happy, no one will be happy.
And it seems that Bernarda Alba was not happy for a long time. Due to the recent death of her second husband, she is now a widow and mother of five adult daughters, and has been confined to her home with her daughters during her six years of mourning.
yes. Six. length. For years.
Oh, that idea wasn't hers. It is a tradition of her country. All dressed in black, Bernarda fights to keep each one under her control. The situation becomes even more explosive when a large amount of sibling conflict occurs.
Mom isn't happy at the moment, but to be fair, neither is anyone else.
It is here that we meet Bernarda and her daughters as the first of three acts opens in LSU's Turner Fisher Opera Center's production of “La Casa de Bernarda Alba.”
Performances will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Shaver Theater in the LSU Music, Performing Arts Building on Dalrymple Drive.
The opera, performed in English, is new and premiered at the Cleveland Opera in 2022, based on Federico García Lorca's legendary tragedy “The House of Bernarda Alba'' with composer Griffin Candy and libretto. It has been reinterpreted by writer Caridad Svić.
LSU's performance marks both the university's premiere and Baton Rouge premiere of the predominantly female-voiced opera, a key reason music director Michael Borowitz pushed the department to produce “Bernarda Alba.” was.
“I've always tried to keep an eye out for pieces that really highlight the alto and soprano voices,” he said. “That's unusual, especially in classical opera, where composers tended to lead in shows with mostly men, and they had one or two soprano leads and that was it. So it's great to have such a fascinating production.''It's an all-soprano and alto cast, and it's all about the ensemble, so everyone has a very important role. ”
Borowitz attended the opera's Cleveland premiere.
“The composer has written a lot of symphonies and has a real ear for drama, so I think this score is a bit of a modern Puccini,” he said.
Composer Giacomo Puccini pioneered the verismo movement in Italian opera, which sought to depict stories more realistically.
“Bernarda Alba'' is full of the reality of a family's twisted situation, and Sidney Charbet helps bring it to life.
Sorbet is a senior vocal performance major from Covington. Doug McDonough, the show's director, named him co-director.
“I'm a singer, but I had taken several of Doug's directing classes and was looking for an opportunity to serve as a directing assistant,” she said. “I helped out with some scenes that were filmed a few semesters ago and went to Wichita, Kansas, to help direct a production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors'' with music on site.''
But this opera is different. Again, Borowitz points out, this is new, tense and heavy.
It's also his Baton Rouge debut, but Sorbet doesn't feel any pressure.
“It was fun,” she said. “And Doug was really helpful. We talked about everything and it was a really good experience.”
Speaking of pressure, lead singer Berenice Carrera is more excited than nervous, even though she knows she'll be introducing the character Bernarda Alba to the Baton Rouge crowd.
“This is the university premiere of this opera, and I know there are a lot of expectations about what it will be like,” she said. “This is a new opera, so the style is different than anything people have heard before. And the music is about how strong Bernarda is, how mean she is, and how she treats her daughters right.” I think it depicts whether it is handled or not.”
The alto soprano singer is a doctoral candidate from Ecuador.
“You know, there's a little bit of pressure to play this character,” Carrera said. “But it's actually really exciting just to have the opportunity to work on something really new.”
The newness of this show also creates some surprises.
“There's a lot going on in this story,” Borowitz said. “We learn early on that Bernarda's husband has been sleeping with all the maids in the house, and that her eldest daughter, who is almost 40 years old, is about to get married. The daughter is supposed to be in mourning, but you don't know what she's doing. I realized that I was in mourning.''The father was actually Bernarda's first husband. ”
All the girls want to leave. In the middle of summer, male laborers showed up to work in the fields.
“They look out the window at the workers and hear the workers sing,” Borowitz said. “So there's a sexual tension there.”
Finally, there is the inevitable development.
“It's not transferable, but one of my daughters has done some pretty bad things, some pretty bad things,” Borowitz said. “That creates a new tragedy, and for me, great opera is about surprises and twists. I love that.”