The Florentine Opera Company’s forthcoming production of Jake Heggie’s one-act 90-minute chamber opera Three Decembers reflects the company’s policy of introducing local audiences to works representing state-of-the-art examples of current musical trends. Critically acclaimed and emotionally charged, Three Decembers’ libretto deals with an aging diva who ignores her alcoholic daughter’s struggles with a failed marriage, and her gay son who is slowly losing his partner to AIDS. Heggie’s score, rooted in Broadway-style cabaret, has been lauded for its deeply felt, accessible music.
Says General Director Bill Florescu, “We chose this piece for the same reason that we did Madame Butterfly or any of the standard operas. Three Decembers has been widely performed in over eight productions throughout the country. It has an engaging score, which appeals to audiences upon first hearing.”
Florescu dismisses the idea that the plot is too sentimental. “Three Decembers deals with complicated familial fractured relationships which people can relate to,” he says. “It has a great libretto, a great score that reaches people. It’s a compact work and we have a great cast that looks great. Keith Phares, playing the son, was widely acclaimed as our prize-winning Elmer Gantry a few seasons ago.” He describes the work by Scenic Designer Vince Mountain as “functionally expressionistic to describe the various time periods—the three Decembers—and places in which the story occurs. The vocal demands of the three principals are about equal. I do like melody in the operas I stage.”
In recent seasons the Florentine has balanced classics with newer work. “We have to do new operas—either it’s a living art form or it’s not,” Florescu says. “It’s important to do new opera to keep the art form alive. Next year we are doing a world premiere. We are recording for posterity as well. If 19th-century companies hadn’t done the works of Verdi, Puccini or Rossini, those works would not be here for me to do them today.”
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Mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer, who will sing the mother role, says, “Three Decembers is a living, breathing story of people who must face the consequences of their difficult choices and actions. The music is lovely and follows the lyrical tradition of post-Sondheim, Barber and Bernstein towards a new American sound which turns the corner into a fresh world of intimate musical theater.”
The Florentine Opera Company presents Three Decembers March 11, 13, 16, 18 and 20 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts’ Vogel Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-291-5700 or visit florentineopera.org.
