A magnificent jewel that can be found in the heart of the vibrant community of Calgary is Calgary Opera, a company that enriches the lives of many Calgarians through their amazing productions of timeless classics and modern performances. Calgary Opera is committed to showcasing and developing great Canadian talent and new opera works. The evening’s performances of world premier of The Inventor, by John Murrel and world renown composer and conductor, Bramwell Tovey, proved to be visually astounding and explosively resounding as an excellent cast and crew literally ignited the stage.
Taking place on the grand stage at the Jubilee Auditorium, WeiJia (a fellow blogger) and I were fortunate to arrive early to the production to discover the phenomenal accompaniment of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra to the performance of the Inventor. Situated in a open “pit” right below the main stage of the Jubilee Auditorium, an open lip between the stage and the seats of the audience allowed curious audience members to peer into the well lit “pit” and observe, at quite a close distance, members of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse on their musical instruments, which was personally for me, a treat and delight to able to observe world class musicians superb technique and expression of music up close.
Throughout the opera, wonderful scores playing on the themes of ambiguity, animation, and fragmentation often revealed the true identities and motives of characters in The Inventor trying to hide behind masks of disparate actions and thoughts.
A recount of the devious and tragic life lead by the larger than life scoundrel, Sandy Keith, the prologue depicts Sandy revisiting a tragic memory from his past, being the son of the Keith Clan, a famous Halifax brewing family, have gathered friends and family for merriment and celebration of Christmas. However, unsatisfied for receiving no presents, the foreshadowing of events that follow after the havoc he creates lead Sandy into an inescapable journey of schemes, deception and self destruction. Prospering from shady dealings with rambunctious and unpleasant conspirators from the United States, fate brings Luther Smoot, another Southern, and Sandy Keith together into the a risky scheme that questions what Sandy is willingly to sacrifice for the prospect of riches.
Not one, but two woman fall under the charm of Sandy Keith, promised “a fine big house” and children to occupy it, as he constantly reinvents his life, his schemes, his wives, and the various identities he assumes to escape the vengeful and persistent Luther Smoot, the Southern man that attempts to unravel the tangled webs of lies and schemes that Sandy Keith constructs, which in the end, having deceived everyone close to him, is Sandy Keith’s own undoing. The characters on stage were actual historical individuals who had in fact lived the tragedy over the course of their lifetime, and can only speculate as to the aftermath of inevitable tragedy of Sandy Keith.
My impressions of this operatic play had left me breathless and dazzled. A harmonious combination of theater, rapturous choral, and incredible orchestra music, WeiJia and I let ourselves be carried away by the animated movements of the performers and complex plot of the opera. A particular highlight I immensely enjoyed was the timely background projections of clocks, a house and my personal favorite, a pair silhouette dancers dancing in step to a slow waltz, projected upon the backdrop to effectively portray the sense of scenery, but also depicted events that were not occurring on the main stage to still visibly exist in a time and place of its own.
Also, more than a couple of times on the stage, great pyrotechnics cast on the stage (that very nearly made WeiJia and I jump out of our seats!) into a grand resonating blast of sparks and smoke, suggested the volatile and dangerous nature of Sandy Keith. The wonderfully crafted and visually appealing costumes, the vast array of professional and ear pleasing singing from the cast of The Inventor, and the grand and majestic set that displayed several rooms with different characters carrying out different actions a sense of omniscient observance, (that incorporated an impressive old fashioned elevator) that made for a delightful night.
Thanks goes to Calgary Opera for providing excellent seats to the wonderful production of The Inventor! I recommend for all, young and old, to come out and watch the amazing productions of the Calgary Opera! Calgary Opera will also be performing The Inventor on Feb. 2 and 4 at 8 pm in the Jubilee Auditorium.