Photo Credit: Ross Zentner
Carl Orff subtitled his “scenic cantata,” Carmina Burana, “Secular songs for soloists and choir accompanied by instruments and stage pictures.” When performed live in concert, however—with all of the performers donning tuxedos or fine eveningwear (Carmina’s performance norm)—much of what Orff intended for his work is lost.
That is not so with the collaborative performance of Orff’s masterpiece by the combined forces of Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Danceworks Performance Company and Chant Claire Chamber Choir. What they bring to the Cabot Theatre is a wonderful visual and aural spectacle, intimate-yet-considerable in scale and full of boisterous energy.
Carmina Burana is best known for its opening (and closing) exuberant and gripping “O Fortune” chorus. There are certainly many other full-on sections in this work for which having a massive, modern symphony orchestra and choral forces are quite apt, but the work also has many quiet, contemplative moments for one or two performers. The Skylight and its partners still managed to bring a decent amount of sound out of the biggest parts of the cantata with on-stage keyboards and percussionists—as well as both on-stage and off-stage vocalists—under the expert guidance of music director Janna Ernst and conductor Benjamin Bedroske.
There are many fine elements to this outstanding production. Voices among the large group of soloists and choristers are universally fine. Instrumentalists in the small orchestra play superbly. Both staging (Jill Anna Ponasik) and scenic design (Lisa Schlenker) are a wonder; it’s amazing to behold how the stage can become a beehive of activity, with many performers doing so many things at once (sometimes within mere inches of each other) and have it all look and work so well in conveying Carmina’s message.
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That message? To borrow from the Old Latin and Old German lyrics Orff mined so brilliantly: “I bemoan the wounds of Fortune;” “Come, come, my love, I long for you;” “Behold, the pleasant and longed-for spring brings back joyfulness…” Spring, sunshine, burgeoning flowers, love, longing, lust and lament; these are the heart of this work. And of the future? “The wheel of Fortune turns…”
Through March 31 at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit skylightmusictheatre.org.
