The fat lady should have waited. She left me no time to tell everyone I know to see Proximity. There were Darlene and I on closing night, marveling at what we’d seen, but too late to encourage others to share our excitement.
A scene from “Proximity.”
I never know what I’m in for with a new opera. It can be cause for celebration, as with Nixon in China. Sometimes, as with The King Listens, I flee at intermission. Mostly, they fall somewhere in between, agreeable enough to sit through without the fidgets, yet not so much so that I need to repeat the experience.
Proximity is that rare bird that I wish were preserved on film. The music was helpful, but I don’t trust myself to do it justice without another hearing. There was so much to watch, so much to take in emotionally, that the music deserves more attention than I had left to give it.
Lyric commissioned an opera that could not be more specific to Chicago at this very moment. It is three operas in one. “The Walkers,” the longest and most dominant, takes as its theme the decentralization of gangs once their leaders are imprisoned, and the murderous chaos and slaughter of innocents that continues in its wake. Guns loom here omnipresently, almost becoming a character.
For the libretto, the talented actress and documentarian, Anna Deavere Smith, interviewed numerous locals impacted by gun violence and loss. Their words provide a most moving and powerful script.
The physical production was dazzling. Singers moved about at times on an enormous map of the city, at times on a dizzying, high speed expressway, and at times amid the stars in the cosmos, to mesmerizing effect. Heartfelt and astonished thanks are due to production designers Jason H. Thompson and Kaitlyn Pietras.
“Four Portraits,” the most poetic of the three operas, deals humorously and somewhat magically with loneliness. It nestles comfortably in this mix as an apt and welcome contrast.
“Night,” the third and shortest opera is quite good enough in itself, but it skews in another direction – climate change. It’s strikingly conceived but would fit better in a different program.
I deeply regret that the run of Proximity is over. I wish that, however much or little, or no, experience of opera you have had, that you could have seen this one.
Me Now 