During the 1960s, behavioral scientists explored the boundary between Homo sapiens and other primates by tearing chimpanzees from their surroundings and raising them as if they were human children. The memoirs of the most notorious of those researchers, psychologist Maurice Temerlin, prompted an episode of public radio’s “Radiolab,” which in turn inspired the opera Lucy. Milwaukee Opera Theatre will present the world premiere this weekend.
MOT previously worked with composer John Glover and librettist Kelley Rourke on Guns N’ Rosenkavalier, a melding of rock and art songs into a seamless cycle. In the new opera, baritone Andrew Wilkowske plays the only stage role as Temerlin; the chimpanzee he raised in his home, named Lucy, will be represented by images projected on various surfaces. Glover composed Lucy with Redshift Ensemble in mind—a group for violin, clarinet, cello and piano (with toy piano evoking Tamerlin’s memories of Lucy). Redshift will perform the music live on stage.
“It’s a memory opera,” says MOT Artistic Director Jill Anna Ponasik, focused on Temerlin’s reflections of life with Lucy. “The music is contemporary but rooted in the romantic. Some of the melodies are so beautiful, I find myself humming them.”
In his memoirs, Temerlin seemed clueless about his hubris. His experiment damaged his family life and Lucy, who learned ASL signs and imitated aspects of human behavior while unable to become human. After more than a decade of trying, Temerlin decided to return the ape to Africa. A graduate student accompanied Lucy on what was anticipated as a short reintroduction to the wild. It took years. “She was depressed and felt abandoned,” Ponasik says. “She stopped eating and lost her hair. She was unable to understand what was happening to her.” Lucy had a hard time regaining her bearings as a chimpanzee.
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“It’s a sad story—but fascinating and mind blowing,” Ponasik continues. “It draws people’s curiosity. The take-away is about the unintended consequences of the well-intended choices we make. What Temerlin did was a terrible idea—we can easily see that now. It ruined everybody’s life, including Lucy’s.”
Nov. 7-9 at Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. For tickets, call 1-800-838-3006 or visit lucytheopera.com.
