Louis Karchin

Jane Eyre

Jennifer Zetlan, Ryan Macpherson; Orchestra of the League of Composers/louis Karchin

Naxos 8.669042-43 129:11 mins (2 discs) Charlotte Brontë’s celebrated novel Jane Eyre seems ripe for opera. Indeed, 2016 saw the concert premiere of John Joubert’s 1997 British adaptation as well as the

staged premiere of this equally ambitious offering by American composer Louis Karchin and librettist Diane Osen. Theirs is in three acts and opens with a love not yet declared, but palpable, between Jane and Rochester – whom she rescues in the first scene from a fire we later learn is set by his mad, atticheld wife Bertha.

The narrative is emotionally charged, the romantic tension welldrawn in its anguish. But there is little let-up or room for contrasting reflection, making for a long two hours-plus timespan: characters sing with dramatic fervour throughout, with vocally little in style to differentiate them. While nods are made to social unorthodoxies and Byronic character flaws, there’s never any doubt that the couple will ultimately be united.

Yet the score is extremely wellcrafted, with intense and detailed orchestral writing that owes much to the Strauss of Rosenkavalier and, less obviously, Salome. It’s vigorously performed by the Orchestra of the League of Composers in support of impressive principals, Jennifer Zetlan and Ryan Macpherson, under Karchin’s baton. Steph Power PERFORMANCE ★★★ RECORDING ★★★★