Opera North (Israel) presents its first production - Aviram Freiberg's setting of Federico Gracia Lorca's "The House of Bernarda Alba"

Photo: Aviram Freiberg

 

Opera North (Israel) has set its sights at encouraging opera creativity, composers and performers in Haifa and in the northern region of Israel. "The House of Bernarda Alba" was the company's first production. Completed in 1936, two months before the death of its author Federico García Lorca, this drama was the third and last of what has often been referred to as the "rural trilogy" - "Bodas de sangre" (Blood Wedding), "Yerma" and " La casa de Bernarda Alba" (The House of Bernarda Alba).. Abridged and translated into Hebrew by Rivka Meshulach, the text has been set to music by Aviram Freiberg. Stage direction was by Jonathan Szwarc, stage design - Dorota Biales, lighting - Yoni Tal; Tom Karni conducted with Alyssa Kuznetsova at the piano. This writer attended the performance at the Khan Theatre (Jerusalem) on March 14th, 2023.

 

Opening with the stark singing of "Requiem Eterna", followed by elements of Jewish mourning liturgy, the action takes place in the home of Bernarda Alba after the funeral of her second husband. Authoritarian, unbending and bound to the stringencies of Spanish tradition, Bernarda announces to her five daughters that there will be a mourning period of eight years, during which time they must stay in the house and do needlework. Her authority is not to be questioned. La Poncia (Iris Brill), Bernarda's maid and confidante, challenges Bernarda's authority, but the daughters are to submit to her will in spite of their unhappiness.  Lilach Tolnai-Turcan was well cast as the controlling Bernarda, her eyes never moving from her daughters. In the production, the daughters' individual personalities were excellently portrayed - Angustias (Carmel Ben-Ephraim), whose name means "anguish" or "torments", the weeping Magdalena (Shira Shaish), the gossipy Amelia (Mor Rosenfeld), the unhappy, sickly and manipulative Martirio (Elinor Greenberg), and Adela (Tom Ben Ishai), the youngest, most beautiful and passionate of the daughters, who openly disobeys her mother. Adela has been having a secret affair with Pepe el Romano. At the climax of the play, she hangs herself after Pepe was (mistakenly) rumoured to have been shot. Throughout the opera's streamlined three-act continuum, we were presented with some fine, articulate singing. The acting was natural, subtle and convincing, never excessive, allowing the dramatic course to spiral to its conclusion with puissance, the singers' body language, in particular their facial expressions, indicative of each turn and gesture of the scenario. On the bare stage, save for the symbolic red needlework thread wound in and out through the chair legs, symbolically incarcerating the daughters, the performance gave expression to all the elements of Lorca's play - the stringency of tradition, authority, the oppression of women, family dynamics, jealousy, anger, despair, love and death, and emotion versus reason. With Tom Karni conducting and Alyssa Kuznetsova's attentive, spirited and dependable playing, Freiberg's music, moving between modal, atonal and even folk-based styles, in keeping with the dramatic developments, flows well. His musical language is accessible and meaningful. A highlight of the performance was the solo scene of Maria Josefa, Bernarda's demented mother, poignantly presented by Dalia Treibich, its content telling of dreams and yearning, her words filled with truth and wisdom. Another touch was Flamenco dancing by Maayan Yagil. 

 

Opera North is off to a promising start. Kudos to all involved!