The Fisher Center at Bard has debuted a new operatic adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s one-act play, Suddenly Last Summer, featuring a score by composer Courtney Bryan and a libretto by Gideon Lester and Daniel Fish. Directed by Fish, the production employs a multidisciplinary approach that blends speech, song, film, and live painting to explore the unreliable narratives surrounding the death of the character Sebastian Venable. Following its run at the Fisher Center, which concludes July 19, the production is scheduled to travel to Opera Philadelphia for its next season.
An Operatic Dueling Narrative
The adaptation centers on the conflicting accounts of Sebastian’s death as told by his mother, Mrs. Venable, and his cousin, Catherine. In this production, the distinction between their stories is underscored by their delivery: Mrs. Venable, portrayed by Tina Benko, communicates primarily through spoken word, while Catherine, played by Mikaela Bennett, conveys her narrative through song.
The production utilizes an expansive, minimalist set designed by Marsha Ginsberg. Director Daniel Fish integrates various media into the performance, including live painting by artist Lucy Tarquinio and prerecorded film sequences. While the play remains a "courtroom drama without a courtroom," the staging emphasizes the competitive nature of the two women’s testimonies, often layering their monologues so that the characters interrupt one another throughout the performance.
Musical Composition and Staging
Composer Courtney Bryan, making her opera debut, created a score that incorporates bird songs as cues and utilizes a mix of improvisatory elements and structured pacing. The score avoids a traditional aria-based format in favor of a brisk, dramatic structure.
The musical experience is heavily amplified, with the instrumentalists positioned out of sight and the vocalists—including the Young People’s Chorus of New York City—performing both on and offstage. This directorial choice has drawn attention to the balance between the music and the libretto; the chorus also serves to represent the spectral presence of Sebastian Venable through poetry and predatory language.
Character Dynamics and Production Elements
The narrative focuses on the efforts of Mrs. Venable to protect her son’s legacy, insisting he was a chaste poet, while Catherine recounts a more violent reality involving Sebastian’s exploitation of young men. Dr. Cukrowicz, played by Branden Lindsay, acts as the dispassionate mediator between the two women, tasked by Mrs. Venable to perform a lobotomy on Catherine to silence her account.
The production’s visual language includes:
- Projection Art: Joshua Thorson projects Lucy Tarquinio’s expressive painting onto the set walls.
- Choreography: Beth Gill provides movement for the Young People’s Chorus, who cycle through different identities, from institutional nuns to figures representing Saint Sebastian.
- Film: Prerecorded segments feature Nick Westrate and Miriam Silverman as Catherine’s brother and mother, evoking the aesthetic of mid-century Hollywood cinema.
Production Schedule
- Current Venue: Fisher Center at Bard, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
- Closing Date: July 19.
- Future Engagement: Opera Philadelphia (upcoming season).
For further information regarding tickets and performance details, visit the Fisher Center at Bard official website.