An Unexpected Night at the Opera: The Giver

This was an entirely different setup from the usual NotO events.  First of all, instead of meeting up for a reception beforehand, we were to go straight to the opera house itself.  Only it wasn't the Ordway this time, it was some place near the warehouse district in Minneapolis.  Actually, it was right next to the Guthrie Lab, in a surprisingly quiet corner just outside of downtown.  I was lucky to catch a bus and arrive just barely on time, despite the public transit system's determination to foil my plans for the evening. 

I'm glad I made it, though.  More than glad.  I am thanking the transit gods for allowing me the privilege of attending this show.  I'm not even exaggerating.  You should see the little model bus I made for this shrine in my living room.

No, I'm not going to post a picture of it.

But I will post a picture of me holding my program, which both the author of the book (Lois Lowry) and the writer of the stage adaptation signed for me.  LOOK HOW AMAZED I AM. 

This is my amazed face.

I must make a confession here:  I hadn't read the story, The Giver, until about three days before I saw this opera adaptation.  I know, I'm super late to the party here.  But I DID read it, and I loved it, and all I could think was, "How are they going to do this on stage?"

And then, they did it.

And I was impressed, because they did it perfectly.

Our protagonist, Jonas, starts to see flashes of color in a world that is only seen in shades of gray and beige.  The stage version of this was to dress everyone in drab neutral scrubs and use monochromatic props.  UNTIL THIS RED APPLE SHOWS UP AND WOW THAT HAD EXACTLY THE IMPACT IT SHOULD HAVE.

 

"WHAT IS THIS EVEN?"

The colors don't just stop at apples, though.  Red hair, red sleds, and... okay, so I guess he had to start somewhere, but Jonas mostly sees a lot of red for awhile.  Which is cool, because they did it cleverly on stage, and it worked just as it was supposed to work, and I was so pleased.

 He's seeing red.  Lots of it.

Another clever thing they did was using screens and video projection to indicate the memories that the Giver was showing to Jonas.  The choir kids would rush into formation and hold up these translucent white squares, upon which the various memories would be projected, and Jonas could interact with the screens in different ways. 

 

"Woo hoo!"

The kids were all amazing in this production.  The music was definitely suited to the story, almost monotonous at first without being boring, but with more melody and smoother flow as Jonas gained more memories of the time before, back and back and back... 

 

  Of course, me being me, I had to do a couple of silly doodles.  That girl who played Jonas' little sister, Lily, was hilarious.  She had everyone cracking up during the curtain call.

My favorite part about this entire production was how the relationship between the Giver and Jonas was portrayed.  There was a distinct sense of a growing bond between the two, something painful and complicated due to the very nature of being the Receiver of Memory, and yet the Giver maintained an air of gentle patience and even protective affection toward Jonas.  The way Jonas trusted the Giver so implicitly, even when the memories were horrible, even when he was frightened and brittle.  Their friendship was a beautiful and very moving thing to see.  

My.  Heart.  *clutches*

If this show hadn't already been sold out, I would tell everyone I know to go see it.  And then I'd go see it again myself.  Three more times. 

To sum up:  A beautiful, thought-provoking story translated to a phenomenally gorgeous and effective stage production, performed by a cast of wonderfully talented kids.  My tiny webcam shots of my marker scribbles cannot begin to capture all of the feelings this show gave me.  SO MANY FEELINGS.

And with that, I sadly close the sketchbook on this opera season.  Until next year!

-Maria