November 8, 1996
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
23
EVENINGS OUT
The joy of unrestricted emotional expression
by Richard Berrong Cleveland-When the Cleveland Institute of Music suggested that the Chronicle interview their new opera director Gary Race, it seemed only logical.
Gary Race
To inaugurate his first full season with the Institute, Race has chosen Benjamin Britten's English-language opera Albert Herring (November 13-16). When you have a gay director staging a work that a gay composer wrote for his gay lover (Peter Pears), this is news for the gay community.
Albert Herring does not deal with gay issues directly, but Race was quick to point out the relevance of the work to gays. In this opera, Britten presents an opposition between nineteenth-century Victorian morality and a young couple who indulge in what this director depicts as a "freer sensuality." Much of the work deals with Albert's fascination with and finally acceptance of this sensual freedom.
Talking about Albert Herring in this context led Race to speculate on the more general question of why opera has such a strong appeal to so many gays. For him, the most powerful connection between the two is opera's overt emotional impact. In his own words, “opera unabashedly presents... emotional content . . . that is as much the opposite of closeted feelings as there could be."
Just as he himself early on found comfort in the gay community because it allowed him to express the full range of his emotions without censure, so he believes that opera appeals to many gays, and has the potential to appeal to many more. This is because opera celebrates the unrestrained expression and communication of the most powerful basic emotions. In opera, no emotions are closeted. In fact, thousands cheer those who give full vent
Call us! Let us help you design the
cake of your dreams.
to even their wildest and most secret desires.
This in turn led him to reflect on how he wants to involve the Cleveland gay community in opera. For many, he feels, opera still has only what he calls a "generalized TOM RITTER impact." These people hear a tune that they like, enjoy the spectacle and the evening out. His hope is to coax more members in a little deeper, to see the specifics of what is really going on in the great works.
"Wouldn't it be great," he rhapsodized, “if you could go out in the lobby during intermission and hear the audience talk about the ideas in the opera?"
For this reason, Race is a big proponent of doing opera in the language of the audience. (He even did Butterfly in German in Germany!) For him, that is when the real magic takes place, when the audience understands the meaning of the text, which makes the generalized emotion of the music specific. To this end, he has prepared singing translations of several operas, including a scaled-down version of Madama Butterfly that he would like to do in Cleveland. He also dreams of doing Vanessa, a work by an American team of gay artists, composer Samuel Barber and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti.
When I asked him if being gay had played a role in his career, he also had lots to say. In terms of his craft, he feels that his own struggle with issues of identity and of belonging, of who he is and where he fits into the world as a gay man, makes a major imprint on how he interprets works for his audiences. In terms of his profession, he echoed what others have told me, that in the world of opera being gay is not a hindrance. In fact, he talked at some length about the deep comfort level and camaraderie that he has experienced when gay colleagues discover that he is gay, and how that has made the going easier for both himself and those he works with.
It would be easy to guess, after having spent two hours over coffee with him, that Gary Race could not help but infuse the Institute's upcoming production with the infectious energy that he so bountifully exudes. Having had the great pleasure of witnessing him direct his young, energetic, and very convincing cast for three hours earlier that day, I don't have to speculate about such things, however.
Readers will definitely see exactly what Race is talking about, the magic that opera in English can have for an audience that understands the joy of the unrestricted expression of emotion, when they attend Albert Herring at the Cleveland Institute of Music, November 13 and 16 at 8 pm, and Nov. 15 at 2 pm. For ticket information, call 216-791-5000, extension 411.
Sweet
Arts
▼All Occasion Cakes
▼ Cleveland's Classic Cheesecake
Commitment Cakes ▼ Assorted Pastries
All By Special Order 216/476-CAKE
17008 Lorain Avenue, Near Kamm's Corners
Homony in Food, Drink, Art & Entertainment Ar& Eclectic Cuisine Featuring:
Vegetarian, Eastern European, American & Italian Specialties
&
arand
Grille
CLEVELAND,
OHIO
Cosmopolitan Dining at Neighborhood Prices
• Large Selection of Wines & Imported Beers •
• Entertainment Currently Featuring Classical Guitar⚫
Thesthu Tilbon
3359 Fulton Vene 398-5052
Midnight Mondays & Weekends 1pm Lam.
help is here...
addictions
• sexual abuse ⚫ codependency
gay and lesbian issues • adolecents and children
•parenting
Becky Streem
LISW, CCDC III 216-953-8809
Dr. Eileen McGee & Associates, Inc.
34950 Chardon Road Suite 102 Willoughby Hills, Ohio 44094
STOP LIVING WITH BACK PAIN AND
STOP START LIVING LIFE TO ITS FULLEST
If You Suffer from Any of These Symptoms -
Professional Chiropractic Care Can Help
• Headaches • Sports Injuries • Sciatica
• Scoliosis
• Disc Problems
• Neck Pain
• Numbness
• Leg Pain
• Lower Back Pain • Whiplash
• Arm & Shoulder Pain • Stress
AUTO ACCIDENTS • WORKERS' COMPENSATION MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED WE DO THE PAPERWORK
Dr. Keith R. Jordan, D.C.
OPTIMAL HEALTH CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC
Dr. Keith R. Jordan, D.C. 1451 West 117th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44107 (216) 521-2225
THOMAS J. RANKIN j.
Call Thom today for your copy of his powerful free brochure:
"THE 7 MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR LENDER BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING"
216-999-8100
BY REFERRAL ONLY T
REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE CORP. "Your Partners In Lending"
20325 Center Ridge Road, Rocky River, Ohio 44116