"The Savoyards’ evocative, minimalist production employs an artfully suggestive set, a mixed cast, and colorful period costumes... It’s a rare opportunity to see this little gem, and who knows how long we’ll have to wait for another performance." —Washington Times
Treemonisha "glimmers with bits of ragtime, jazzy undertones and strong cultural messages ... a gift beyond measure" —DC Theatre Scene
"... ragtime numbers that shine" —Washington Post
"The Washington Savoyards are giving the best possible 100th birthday present to “Treemonisha”, Scott Joplin’s rarely seen ragtime opera -- rousing performances." —Examiner
"Break off significant social engagements if you must, but get thee to the Atlas stage and see and hear the wonder of “Treemonisha” and then spread the word: this is a must-see musical triumph, easily earning 6 stars out of a possible 4." —DC Agenda
Don’t miss “Treemonisha” and Intersections this weekend
By DAVID J. HOFFMAN in DC Agenda
“'Treemonisha' is a gem of an opera by one of America’s most treasured composers, Scott Joplin,” says Michael Bobbitt, who is directing the Washington Savoyards’ production — a first in the D.C. area for more than 30 years.
Bobbitt, who is gay and lives with his partner and their son in Glen Echo, is also the producing artistic director of Adventure theatre, the D.C. area’s longest running children’s theatre.
Joplin is arguably America’s greatest black composer. Joplin died forgotten at age 49 in 1916 of advanced-syphilis dementia in a mental hospital and was never able to see his opera performed, due to Jim Crow laws blocking his path as a black musician.
Joplin, dubbed the “king of ragtime” during the heyday of that distinctive genre, became popular again after Joplin rags were the soundtrack for the 1973 hit film “The Sting.” Ragtime was a toe-tapping syncopated “ragged-time” music often associated with the red-light-district saloons and bordellos where Joplin himself often played.
Yes, that Scott Joplin. Well, brilliant though he was as a composer of ragtime, Joplin also wrote two operas, one of them a work of unalloyed genius — “Treemonisha” — a work of folk Americana at least the artistic equal of, say, Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” that languished unperformed until 1972 when finally it was produced in Atlanta after a new score was commissioned, since Joplin’s own original orchestration had long since been lost.
“One could arguably say that Scott Joplin changed the landscape of American music and influenced what modern music is today,” says Bobbitt. “That music is vast and various, but extremely accessible and joyous.”
Only here through March 7, the Bobbitt-helmed production is on stage at the splendid Atlas Performing Arts Center, the jewel in the crown of D.C.’s newest arts venue on H Street, N.E. Break off significant social engagements if you must, but get thee to the Atlas stage and see and hear the wonder of “Treemonisha” and then spread the word: this is a must-see musical triumph, easily earning 6 stars out of a possible 4.
Bobbitt says, “Because the story deals with superstition, belief, and magic, we decided to lean toward a slightly fantastic place” in the sets and costumes, especially the wonder of a great tree that forms the towering backdrop above the wooded village in post-Civil War Louisiana bayou country where the young girl, the eponymous Treemonisha, lives and risks death but eventually leads her people to freedom from superstition.
Our young heroine, played to pert perfection and with marvelous girlish pipes of a soaring soprano by Joanna Marie Ford, “enjoys the wonders of reading and tries to spread that love throughout her community,” says Bobbitt. But unfortunately she clashes with local “conjurors,” magicians peddling bags of luck to ward off evil, who see the young girl with her book-reading, should it spread throughout the community, as a threat to their livelihoods. Enter conflict. And cue the forces of wicked magicians who conspire to kidnap her and throw her into a nest of poisonous snakes.
Standing beside her, however, are protectors — her “parent” figures, the incomparable contralto of Marilyn Moore playing Monisha, and the equally talented Darry Winston, as her doting Uncle Ned, who even has a soft-shoe up his sleeve when the stage shifts from rapturous music to a kaleidoscope of dancers — and even Uncle Ned can keep time to the music! Moore comes to this role with her acting chops as Bess in “Porgy and Bess” with the New York City Opera and countless other roles in opera from Violetta in “La Traviata” to Mimi in “LaBoheme.” Moore is also a faculty member at the Levine School of music and at Delaware State University.
Winston, meanwhile, has his own roots deep in such baritone roles as Lucas in “The Student Prince” on Broadway and regionally in “Madame Butterfly” and “Cosi fan tutti” and perhaps most of all his signature Wagnerian roles in the Ring Cycle. And of course who can forget his endless offstage patter about the wonders of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald?
As for Ford, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Germany and studied at the Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar where she performed as Despina in Mozart’s “Cos fan tutti.” She has also toured as a soloist with the Morgan State University Choir in Ghana and is often a featured singer throughout the Maryland/D.C. area. Her career will soar even higher after “Treemonisha.”
The remainder of the diverse cast includes other standouts, and they all blend into a stirring rendition of vocal command and eye-dazzling footwork in this true American classic, a folk opera about freedom, a song cycle about the liberation of a people through community values and the doors opened through education.
In Bobbitt’s words, “we took the “opportunity to have fun with this opera,” in which he accents its fantasy elements where what he calls “good and love triumph over evil.” And the audience on opening night had so much infectious fun that they broke into rousing cheers at the curtain call. You will, too.
Be aware that “Treemonisha” is only one ornament on this late-winter tannenbaum of “Intersections: A New America Arts Festival” which runs through March 7 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE.
Performances of “Treemonisha” continue on Friday and Saturday, March 5 and 6 at 8 p.m., and Sunday March 7 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $10-$40.
Scott Joplin, “Treemonisha,” Washington Savoyards At the AtlasWednesday, February 24, 2010 - Curtain Up! by Terry Ponick
Washington, DC—The Atlas Performing Arts Center kicked off its much-anticipated “Intersections: A New American Arts Festival" this past weekend. The signature event? A sprightly—and rare--performance of ragtime genius Scott Joplin’s only opera, “Treemonisha,” mounted by the Washington Savoyards who are now resident at the Center. Directed by Michael J. Bobbitt, the opera will be performed again this weekend and next.
Since at least the 1970s, Scott Joplin (1867?-1917) has been regarded by many—myself included—as a uniquely American version of Frederick Chopin. In my opinion, at least, Joplin’s piano rags are worthy successors to Chopin’s mazurkas. A well-worn first edition of the original New York Public Library's edition of his piano compositions has been in my piano bench for decades.
From around the turn of the 20th century, Joplin, who once earned a living playing in bars and houses of ill-repute, eventually made a decent livelihood publishing his original compositions, mainly these same piano rags plus the occasional waltz or march. His pieces were and still are notable for their freshness, their user user-friendliness and, of course, their irresistible hallmark syncopation.
His signature “Maple Leaf Rag,” became an almost overnight sensation when it was published. Many of his later publications followed suit, making him the uncrowned "King of Ragtime." A little like Elvis and R&B music in the 1950s, ragtime music, particularly Scott Joplin’s, caught hold of American popular imagination, crossing racial barriers and percolating into the nation’s popular culture.
Eventually, however, the American craze for ragtime, like all crazes, peaked and faded. Joplin died penniless and largely forgotten in 1917, seemingly destined to live on as an American musical footnote. But ragtime survived him and other ragtime composers, finding its way into vaudeville routines and, most notably, into the evolution of modern jazz following the First World War.
Scott Joplin himself caught a posthumous break. His rags and other short pieces caught the imagination of a new generation of classical pianists in the late 20th century.
Starved for something new and appealing in a still atonal classical age, they began to incorporate an occasional Joplin rags into their programs. This move was perhaps inspired by the wild popularity of the still famous, too-fast version of Joplin’s “The Entertainer” which served as the signature theme of the hit Newman and Redford film “The Sting,” which also featured other Joplin rags. (BTW, Joplin insisted that rags were never to be played fast.)
Joplin is no longer a novelty at piano recitals, but it’s still no longer surprising to find his works on piano programs, a tribute to the staying power of his music.
While Joplin, like Chopin, composed almost exclusively for the piano, he eventually sought expression in larger classical forms. He’d never received conservatory training, but he was not entirely untaught. His mother, recognizing his talent at an early age, pushed him to learn music, and he did attract the attention of a German-born music teacher who instilled in him a love of the classics, including opera. So it’s not surprising, perhaps, that his ambitions eventually extended in this direction.
Pushing the cultural envelope of those times, Joplin actually composed two operas, the first of which has been lost to us under unfortunate circumstances. His second opera, “Treemonisha,” composed in 1911, almost suffered the same fate. Never fully produced in his brief lifetime, its orchestration was lost and the opera itself was almost forgotten.
Happily, the revival of Joplin’s piano music also inspired musicians to take another look at the opera’s remaining manuscript material. It was re-orchestrated from its surviving piano reduction and has been performed on occasion since then, generally to a good deal of enthusiasm. It was last heard here at the Kennedy Center during the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations.
Since musicologists don’t seem to be in agreement as to Joplin’s intended final form for the work—or, for that matter, to the dramatic value of some of its parts—each staging tends to be a bit different from the last. The version the Washington Savoyards are employing makes use of T. J. Anderson’s re-orchestration and presents Joplin’s opera in a two-act format with a running time of approximately two hours.
Some stiff-necked critics and musicologists have sniffed at the operatic worthiness of “Treemonisha.” To be sure, it’s not a big, complicated work like Verdi’s “Rigoletto” or Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” Nor, given its lack of sophisticated support and financial backing, did it ever possess the production advantages or the collaborative opportunities of its closest operatic cousin, Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” (Note: "Porgy" will be in our area twice this spring, via productions of both the Washington National Opera and the Virginia Opera.)
In short, this is a work that doesn't hail from New York or Paris or even New York. A product of America's heartlands, “Treemonisha” can be fairly classed as a folk opera. Its modest plot is sweet and perhaps a little naïve, and may actually have a good deal to do with Joplin’s own musical and religious upbringing. It’s also a moral fable that preaches education as the only escape from ignorance and superstition, and points to Christian forgiveness as the glue of civilization.
Treemonisha, as we (and she) eventually discover, is an orphan adopted as their own by Monisha and her husband Ned when they find the infant girl left under a tree near their home. Prior to the action, we understand that both parents have taken care to give their daughter an education.
Now a sophisticated, well read young woman, Treemonisha returns to her Louisiana village (in this production) to help her neighbors learn to read and write. She’s not a snob. But education has taught her to be skeptical of superstition. This causes her to run afoul of the local conjurers (medicine men), particularly the wily Zodzetrick.
Fearful of losing their livelihood, the conjurers kidnap Treemonisha, but she’s saved by her boyfriend, Remus. When the villagers get hold of the conjurers and try to beat them, Treemonisha appeals both to reason and Christian forgiveness, and things end harmoniously—literally and figuratively.
The Savoyards’ evocative, minimalist production employs an artfully suggestive set, a mixed cast, and colorful period costumes. It all works quite well, resulting in a charming musical event that’s a little more like an early Broadway show than a grand opera--albeit a Broadway show with formal vocal recitatives and somewhat deeper characterizations.
The major soloists were all quite polished during the Sunday matinee performance we attended. Particular hat tips to Marilyn Moore (Monisha), Darryl Winston (Ned, Shana Powell (Lucy), Darin Ellis (Andy), and LC Harden (Zodzetrick). Special kudos to Murvyn T. Cannaday II as a convincing Remus. And an extra round of applause for JoAnna Ford whose sweet soprano voice and self-effacing demeanor brought the spunky Treemonisha to life.
In smaller roles, Randahl Lindgren, John Dellaporta, and Michael Gallo added a nicely villainous comic touch as the other conjurers, and Doug Bowles weighed in as a marvelously Elmer Gantry-esque preacher man, Parson Alltalk.
The chorus, which gets quite a lot of work in this production, was just great with good tone and great enunciation in evidence at nearly all times. They and the rest of the cast turned in a near letter-perfect performance of the opera’s signature closing production number, “A Real Slow Drag,” authentically choreographed by Pauline Grossman whose dance numbers throughout the show had the perfect touch.
The only sours note during Sunday’s performance—literally—occurred in the theater pit. Some of the instrumentalists couldn’t stay together in the overture and often couldn’t agree on the right notes, either. A little more practice might help, something I’m sure music director Marvin Mills will work on this week. Fortunately, once the chorus and soloists were revved up, the combined forces generally sounded a lot better.
“Treemonisha” runs weekends at the Atlas Performing Arts Center through Sunday, March 7, 2010. Joplin fans should get their tickets now. It’s a rare opportunity to see this little gem, and who knows how long we’ll have to wait for another performance.
