It is the most successful opera written within the past decade and it was the hottest ticket at this summer's Mostly Mozart Festival: George Benjamin's Written on Skin. Receiving its official American premiere in the original production by Katie Mitchell, Written on Skin came with hype and high expectations from the audience. And it did not disappoint.
Written on Skin started as a commission for composer George Benjamin and librettist Martin Crimp from the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2012. Since then, the opera has traveled to the Royal Opera House (where it was filmed and is available here) and has been scheduled, according to the program, in over 20 cities. For a piece that lacked an immediately recognizable name or celebrity value (Anna Nicole), a particularly famous composer (Doctor Atomic) or a famous singer attached to the project (Oscar), Written on Skin has found itself unprecedented and wide-reaching fame.
Based on the grisly, 12th century Provencal legend of the troubadour Guillaume de Cabestanh, Skin blurs the lines between past and present: a group of angels in modern dress drive the interaction between the humans, who go through the story as if they know what will happen next, and provide modern commentary throughout. The hot blooded Protector has commissioned the Boy to write a manuscript telling the story of him and his family. Before long, the Protector's subjugated wife Agnès falls in love with the Boy. When the Protector finds out about the affair, he kills the Boy, forces Agnès to eat the boy's heart and then tries to kill Agnes herself before she can leap off a balcony, ending her own life. The dark tale ran about 1 /2 hours without an intermission.
George Benjamin's dissonant, jarring musical language, reminiscent of Alban Berg, takes a while to adjust to, but the reward is sweet. And while the musical structure is interesting, it's what Benjamin has done with the music that is most impressive. The music creates a brooding, dark atmosphere. Complemented by Katie Mitchell's brilliant production and Vicki Mortimer's intriguing sets, the environment of the Koch Theater was tense and gripping. I was so engrossed in the story that there were times I just wanted to stand up and scream. Watching Written on Skin is like watching a smart, airtight horror movie. The story moves, the feeling is creepy but not unreasonable and the characters are easily to sympathize with. Only this horror movie has some truly phenomenal singing.
It would be a crime to start discussing the show's musical values without first mentioning Barbara Hannigan's breathtaking performance as Agnès. She is the muse of modern music and inhabited the part completely. Her beautiful, feminine voice was able to channel every insecurity of the character, and her diction, along with that of the rest of the cast, was precise and clear, all the better to make sure the audience could savor every ounce of Martin Crimp's incisive, thought-provoking libretto. Hannigan also rose to the challenge of Katie Mitchell's intense, highly-physical blocking. It was a fearless, flawless performance from an artist I cannot wait to hear more from.
No less committed was Christopher Purves as the Protector. His mellifluous yet snarling baritone bellowed, interrogated, and even sometimes crooned with emotion and intensity to the point where he was visibly red in the face. Tim Mead's countertenor, somehow both ethereal and earthy, was put to good use as the Boy/Angel 1, though the length and level of intensity required by the role seemed to wear on him towards the end of the night. Victoria Simmonds brought an articulate and sensual mezzo to the part of Marie/Angel 2, though there was some weakness in her lower register. Robert Murray's expressive tenor was a treat to hear as Angel 3.
Alan Gilbert led the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble for whom the opera was written, in a stirring performance of Benjamin's score. The orchestra's deep feeling for the music came through loud and clear in the exciting climaxes and orchestral outbursts that pepper the piece.
Katie Mitchell's production demands everything- vocalism, physicality, pathos - from the singers, but she has created a world that grabs the audience by the throat with her intelligent production which builds to a thrilling slow-motion finale. If the perfect night at the opera is an equal union of music and theatre, then this is as close to a perfect performance as I have seen. The sets, by
Vicki Mortimer, divided up the Koch Theater's huge stage into panels showing the rooms where the Angels work as historical archivists uncovering the story as well as the house of the Protector. Not only was it highly effective, but it also looked fantastic from the audience.
While Mitchell's production with, for the most part, the same cast is making the international rounds, other productions unaffiliated with the original one are beginning to spring up. And while the success of these smaller, independent productions will ultimately determine the future of George Benjamin's masterpiece, we can think of Written on Skin's short visit to New York as similar to last week's "Blood Moon": Intense, fleeting and, in a twisted sense of the word, beautiful.
Photos by Richard Termine