He uses many narrative overlaps to weave the parallel stories of Inman and Ada together, in more than one case with other characters and scenes in complex ensembles. The attempt to pronounce the English text in a hard-to-identify Southern twang, with heavily ground r’s, put both principals in unpleasantly nasal tone production.Īs with Moby-Dick, Scheer had to strip away most of the substance of the novel to yield a libretto that would make a normal-sized opera. You could hear Higdon leaning heavily toward her leads’ extreme upper registers, particularly Ada, which put Leonard under considerable strain. Composers often assign paired lover roles to soprano and tenor, for the heroic qualities of those voices, rather than mezzo-soprano and baritone. Isabel Leonard and Nathan Gunn made a handsome couple as Ada and Inman. Rarely has a new work had so many good things going for it: a beautiful story with exceptionally well-defined characters and drama a librettist, Gene Scheer, with experience in bringing impossible-to-adapt books to the operatic stage ( Moby-Dick) a composer with a solid track record and enough experience with voices to tackle writing her first opera and a first-rate cast, put together by a company intent on presenting the work in the best possible light. She and Inman have had only a fleeting flirtation when the War of Northern Aggression breaks out, but they hang all their hopes on the slim chance of seeing each other again.
Ada, meanwhile, struggles to keep herself and her farm going after her father’s death. The story, taken from Charles Frazier’s brilliant, wide-ranging novel of the same name, concerns the Ulysses-like journey of Inman, a deserting Confederate soldier, back to the woman he loves.
This crucial tradition continued at Santa Fe Opera this year with the world premiere of Cold Mountain, the first opera by American composer Jennifer Higdon, heard Wednesday evening. The theater darkens, and music that very few people have heard before unfolds before you. Photo: Ken Howardįew moments equal the excitement of the world premiere of a new opera. Nathan Gunn and Isabel Leonard in Jennifer Higdon’s “Cold Mountain” at Santa Fe Opera.
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