Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

�The Mines of Sulphur� at City Opera

Once again City Opera�s fall schedule features a contemporary modernist opera. Last year we had Wourinen�s overwrought �Haroun and the Sea of Stories.� This year the company presents Sir Richard Rodney Bennett�s 1965 work �The Mines of Sulphur.� A hit at Glimmerglass a few summers ago, let�s hope it draws in crowds at the State Theater as well: the opera is very, very good.

�Mines� takes place one wintry night long ago in the West Country of England. In the opening scene, a lecherous old aristocrat, Braxton, is murdered by the lover of his former servant Rosalind. Rosalind, her lover Boconnion, and an old beggar, Tovey, subsequently take over the decaying mansion and help themselves to Braxton�s luxurious clothes and jewelry. Soon, however, they are interrupted by a mysterious troupe of actors in search of shelter for the night. Boconnion agrees to let the actors stay on the condition they perform a play. The play they chose is called �The Mines of Sulphur� (a reference to Othello), and its plot eerily mirrors the events that took place at the mansion before the actors arrived. Tension mounts between the actors and the three vagabonds and culminates in an unexpected denouement.

Bennett�s score is a quite approachable instance of postwar atonality. While the surface tends to be fairly fluid, he does not shy away from rhythmic regularity and Romantic lyricism. His use of groups of like instruments � clarinets, flutes, double-reeds � recalls Stravinsky; yet the lush harmonic idiom emits more than a whiff of Lulu. While the orchestration overall is pretty thick, beautiful chamber and soloistic moments crop up from time to time to relieve the ears. Bennett flows smoothly in and out of fast and slow tempi, and, at just over two hours, the opera is about right so far as length goes.

The libretto, by Beverley Cross, is also far more compact and effective than James Fenton�s for �Haroun.� The momentum does flag at odd moments: before the actors arrive, as they set up for the play, and in the second act after Rosalind and Tovey call for the play to stop. But the resultant ennui, while pushed a little too far, does contribute to the air of decadence and decay pervading the opera. And while I wasn�t entirely convinced by the turn the opera takes in its final scene, the chilliness and horror of the music (and the conceit) do contrast nicely with the story�s tempestuous opening.

Among the cast, the standout is Caroline Worra, who sings the role of Jenny � a pivotal member of the troupe of actors. Her vocal power and vivid presence rescue the second act just in time. Bennett and Cross make tremendous demands on their leading man, Boconnion, who must carry the action of the second act alone for a long time. These demands are probably a little too big for the theatrical shoes of tenor Mark Duffin, but, as soon as Jenny reenters, the pace picks right back up again, and the opera burns steadily to its close.

�Mines� is a must-see if you�re in the area, and bravo to City Opera for giving this clever and creepy work a second life.

posted by David Salvage 10/26/2005