‘Creation’ a novel collaboration PSO and choir superb despite film’s distractions
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A brilliant, fortissimo (really loud) C major chord from the orchestra and chorus illuminates that famous Biblical line, “let there be light,” in Haydn’s “The Creation.”
In the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Friday night production of “Creation,” a flare of stage lighting and bright video imagery accompanied the chord. And there was light. We get it. Oratorios such as “Creation” are not typically staged, but the PSO invited noted director Sam Helfrich back to the Steel City to employ his now trademark creativity with Haydn’s opus. PSO music director Manfred Honeck led the orchestra, The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and three soloists in Mr. Helfrich’s interpretation.
(Mr. Helfrich is responsible for the controversial staging of “Messiah” of 2011.)
The production was marvelously inventive — captivating at times, distractingly busy at others.
Haydn’s oratorio is in three parts, the first two detailing the six days of creation and the third depicting Adam and Eve and their (initially) joyful relationship.
The evening opened with the archangel Uriel (Werner Gura, tenor) passing out tests to a small class of chorus members, each seated at a schoolroom desk. After turning in the assignment, the angels Raphael (Alexander Elliott, bass) and Gabriel (Rachele Gilmore, soprano) alternate presenting class reports on the six days of creation to an approving Uriel.
Balancing forces of this magnitude is quite a feat, and Mr. Honeck kept the musical elements moving at a light, brisk clip. The chorus and orchestra sounded superb, as did the soloists. There was occasional heaviness at the start of some of the arias in the strings, but Mr. Honeck always corrected course quickly.
Greg Emetaz designed the film, which was projected on a large screen above the orchestra and choir. The videos included abstract representations of the narrative, still pictures of famous art (think of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling) and thematic, realworld clips.
The projections proved effective at times, distracting at others. At times I wasn’t sure whether to focus on the screen or on the stage during the first half. The more abstract images were less divertive, often humorous, many created by hands moving plastic toys in an aquarium. (It worked. I promise.)
Others, like the images of an oil-covered pelican or of deforestation felt a bit on the nose with the text — Gabriel is extoling the beauty of the natural world during these scenes.
The harshness of these images sticks in my mind over the more conceptual images. An environmental message isn’t out of place in a concert hall, but in this case it overshadowed the other elements of the production.
Outside of the images, Ms. Gilmore’s voice was exquisite in her avian aria (”On mighty pinions rising, the proud eagle …”). Mr. Elliott’s start was timid, but this may have been a deliberate choice for his “aw shucks, I’m in high school” characterization. That was charming. After the opening, his voice carried clearly to the back of the hall, his German diction irreproachable and his phrases well-tailored.
Mr. Gura’s presentation was also first-rate.
The third section of the oratorio played out as a high school dance, with Adam and Eve (Mr. Elliott and Ms. Gilmore) discovering first love. No screen for this segment, and the class/chorus had rejoined the ranks of the choir behind the orchestra. The sparseness juxtaposed pleasantly with the first half of the production.
The screen returned for the final chorus, with orchestra, choir and soloists all finishing strong.
Mr. Helfrich and Mr. Honeck’s collaborations have proven novel. They are always post-concertconversation worthy. Friday was an entirely original take on a 200-year-old piece of music. Mr. Helfrich has been involved with the PSO and Pittsburgh opera since 2004 —Here’s hoping his collaborations with the PSO continue.