Opera: “Harvey Milk”
Company: Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Venue: Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, Webster University, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves
Dates: June 23 and 25
Tickets: $25 to $135; visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644
Highlights: This trimmed-down version of an opera that premiered in 1995 at the Houston Grand Opera is filled with resonant music, expressive choreography and a story that tightens the first, unwieldy version into a moving piece from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
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Story: Native New Yorker Harvey Milk is warned by his mother to avoid “strange men” as he ventures down to the New York Metropolitan Opera to watch his beloved art form. He knows that he is gay, but it’s the 1940s and he keeps his sexuality private, even subsequently as a Korean War veteran and New York City stockbroker.
When Milk moves to San Francisco, he opens a camera shop in the Castro Street district. He comes out of the closet, becoming an ardent social activist for gay rights, and proclaims himself the “Mayor of Castro Street.”
Shortly after his third, and first successful, campaign to join the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Milk sponsors a bill banning discrimination in public accommodations, housing and employment on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill passes the board by a vote of 11 to 1.
The lone vote against that bill comes from Dan White, a staunchly traditional supervisor who then resigns his seat. When White changes his mind and asks progressive San Francisco Mayor George Moscone to reinstate him, Moscone ultimately refuses to do so. On Nov. 27, 1978, White assassinates both Moscone and Milk.
Other Info: Termed “the first big, gay opera” by its librettist, Michael Korie, when it premiered in its original version almost three decades ago, “Harvey Milk” has been shortened by Korie and its composer, Stewart Wallace, from three acts and three hours to two acts and a little less than two hours in performance time. It’s been co-commissioned by OTSL and San Francisco’s Opera Parallele.
That’s a significant paring, but it works quite well for this “World Premiere of the New Performing Edition” from OTSL. Directed movingly by Sean Curran and James Robinson, the new version substantially cuts dozens of ancillary performers from the cast. As Wallace noted in a recent New York Times article, for the new version he “literally started on an empty page from bar one. So, there’s not a single bar that’s the same, even though it’s definitely the same opera.”
A 2008 film starring Sean Penn in an Oscar-winning performance as Milk has increased awareness of Milk’s pioneering for gay rights. That enabled Korie to focus more on Milk’s personal story than an educational piece for a public which 27 years ago knew considerably less about Milk and his legacy.
Allen Moyer’s perceptive set design uses a series of closets to represent both the previous existence of gays prior to New York City’s Stonewall turmoil of 1969 and a depiction of young Milk’s persona to his mother and society at large before then. It also uses an impressive array of newspaper clippings, background city scenes and other portraits in Greg Emetaz’s savvy video projections.
Lighting by Christopher Akerlind accentuates lavender and other bright colors in many scenes – and harsh illumination in the assassination sequence. Costumes by James Schuette range from the flamboyant garb prominent in some Castro Street scenes to a conservative look for Milk in his New York City days.
Wig and makeup design by Tom Watson supplements the costuming, and Curran’s choreography adds a vibrant, pulsating element to the strengthened composition and libretto, as does David Bullard’s sometimes brash, sometimes sobering sound design.
Wallace’s moving score is given a splendid reading by conductor Carolyn Kuan and members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and chorus master Kevin J. Miller leads some wonderful supporting singing for the major players.
The strong cast includes baritone Thomas Glass in a solid OTSL debut in the title role as the adult Milk. His voice lends credence and persuasion to Milk’s tormented conflict in his early years through his transformation to gay rights leader.
Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Sarlan brings a haunting quality to Milk’s overly protective mother in her own OTSL debut, and tenor Mishael Eusebio, in another OTSL debut, shines as the tormented teen Milk, wanting to please his mother but also attracted to those “strange men” lurking the streets not far from The Met.
Nathan Stark lends his booming bass-baritone to the role of Moscone, and tenor Alek Shrader shows White’s twisted logic and tightly wound personality in telling scenes with Milk and the board of supervisors. Jonathan Johnson delivers a fine performance as Milk’s devoted lover, Scott Smith, and Kyle Sanchez Tingzon shines as the colorful “messenger,” who presages Milk’s advent into politics, in still another OTSL debut.
The new, streamlined “Harvey Milk” successfully delivers a compelling story with moving, accessible music and manifold satisfying performances.