Journey North Opera Company - B. Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" - 1946 (Full Performance Review)

 Benjamin Britten, The Rape of Lucretia

The Creative Team

Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Dowdy

Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Colleen Meier

Stage Director   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amanda Carlson

Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stacie Cooper

Set Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Brittany Pooladian

Costume Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Stacey Palmer

Lighting Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Meredith McDowell
Intimacy & Violence Choreographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mason Tyer

Rehearsal & Performance Pianist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Jared Miller

The Cast

Lucretia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Briana Moynihan

Tarquinius  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Sullivan Ojala Helmbolt

Male Chorus  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wesley Frye

Female Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Wolf

Collatinus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Joel Mathias

Junius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Allen

Bianca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christina Christensen

Lucia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Carole Schultz

Aerialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Jolie Meshbesher

Rape of Lucretia, cast photo.

© 2019, Justin Sims Photography. Used with permission.

Well, three cheers all around to the cast, crew, and directors at Journey North Opera Company [JNOC] on a job marvelously done in their recent production of Benjamin Britten's (1913-1976) "The Rape of Lucretia," performed Sunday, September 8, at 2 p.m. What little may have been rough around the edges at the preview I received August 27 (see my review here), well, ... let's just say they were more than ironed out by performance weekend. Executive Director and Producer Colleen Meier should have gone to bed that night pleasantly content with her organization's performance and presentation. Brava, maestra. Brava.

Unfortunately, the production's run has ended. So, why now review it, one might ask. Well...

BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THAT GOOD!

And, the preview only gave me a glimpse (and a small one at that) of the overall performance (as well as of the performers). But now with having experienced the full picture, there are many other noteworthy performances that demand mention. First off, Amy Wolf. In my past review I praised eloquently the voice and acting chops of tenor Wesley Frye, who played the role of Male Chorus. Well, let me now give equal praise to Wolf (JNOC's own Artistic Director), who played the role of Female Chorus. Her voice rich and commanding, Wolf dominated the stage (especially Act I, scene 2) with her dramatic strength and conviction. How did the creative team manage to get not one, but TWO! superlative narrators for this work? Wolf and Frye made an amazing pair. And props to Costume Designer Stacey Palmer for her creative and (what I feel was a) successful take on a classic mythological creature, the satyr.

And though Moynihan (Lucretia) continued to amaze throughout, baritone Joel Mathias, who played her husband Collatinus, was a force in his own right. [spoiler alert] The depth of emotion which Mathias expressed at the death of his beloved wife was nothing more than "real." Real, authentic, raw emotion. According to Stage Director Amanda Carlson and corroborated later by Meier, Mathias had withheld such conviction in rehearsals only to break it out for all to see and experience for the first time at the Friday premier. I tell you, up until that moment, I had not shed a tear. But when I experienced the pain and grief Mathias demonstrated there on stage, I couldn't help but weep alongside him.

If you have not experienced a JNOC production, visit their website, get tickets, and go! Since their renaissance, I have experienced all but one of their shows and have been impressed and thoroughly entertained every time. One can find more information for Journey North Opera Company at https://www.journeynorthopera.com/ as well as for Minnsky Theatre at https://www.minnsky.com/home.html . Look for me at both of these upcoming performances:

OperaTease: Tricks and Treats - October 31, 7:30 p.m. TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

OperaTease: Winter Wonderland (A Family-friendly Production) - November 30, 2019, 7:30 p.m.

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This is Mark Rodriguez, your reviewer of all things opera. Enjoy the show!