Moby-Dick by Jake Heggie

Dallas Opera, April 30, May 2, 5, 8, 13, and 16

Winspear Opera House, Dallas, Texas

Review by Dean Cassella

Those who liked Fort Worth Opera’s production of Dean Man Walking last year are in for a treat. Jake Heggie’s latest magnum opus, an adaption of Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby-Dick, reveals a composer who’s depth and sophistication is growing with time, and the music world is the better for it. Heggie’s musical imagination is beginning to approach the sublime, and one can only hope that it will continue on this trajectory.

As I have said elsewhere, Heggie was already a supreme orchestrator with Dead Man Walking. The prelude and finale to Moby-Dick have a magical character that is highly reminiscent of Wagner’s Prelude to Parsifal, and I think it’s fair to say that the orchestration resides in a late Wagnerian frame of reference with, naturally enough, touches of Der Fliegende Holländer put in for good measure. The score successfully generates the atmosphere of the sea, but without resorting to a musical vocabulary that would come across as quaint or hackneyed in a modern context. Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer manage to keep the pacing and action very high; this is all the more remarkable, given the prolixity of its source.

Tenor Ben Heppner and Captain Ahab

The cast is headed by superstar heldentenor Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab. Heppner is perhaps best known to opera audiences for his interpretation of the lead role in the Met’s DVD of Tristan.

This is Heppner’s debut in TDO, and his performance was a knockout, made all the more impressive that he did so while limping around on a stilt for the entire performance. As one could expect, he successfully weds a refined articulation and sensitivity to sheer power; it would, no doubt, be a treat to see him perform Tristan in the flesh.

Foremost among the supporting cast was tenor Stephen Costello as Greenhorn/Ishmael. It is perhaps fair to describe Costello as a regular singer at TDO, who has recently been heard in Dallas in The Merry Widow and Roberto Devereux. His voice still retains the youthful sweetness that can make young maidens’ hearts melt.

Like Verdi’s Otello (another tale of the sea), Moby-Dick depicts a decidedly masculine world. In the case of Moby, though, there is no real love interest, as the work takes place entirely on ship board. Consequently, the only female voice to be heard is in the “trouser” role of Pip, the cabin boy, which places a heavy burden on the singer of the role. Soprano Talise Trevigne meets it square on with a beautiful, yet powerful voice that never falters.

Soprano Talise Trevigne as Pip

As one could expect with a world premiere, the sets and staging were absolutely fabulous. The set consisted of the opera world’s most highly raked stage, constructed of white boards which doubled as a projection screen for some very effective animated projections.

An Animated Sequence of Ahab's Ship, The Pequod

It was also outfitted wit climbing apparatus, which allowed members of the chorus to climb partially up it and become part of the animated sequences.

Veteran conductor Patrick Summers, who has conducted all of Heggie’s premieres, did a fine job at the podium, and can be said to have some unique insights into the latter’s music. Finally, the chorus, headed as always by TDO’s Alexander Rom, really shined in Moby, whose maritime theme lends itself so well to choral flourishes.

All in all, this production is living proof that opera is no longer a “dead” art form, but may actually be heading into a genuine revival. Let us hope that Heggie continues to employ tonality in his new works and positively influences other composers to follow his lead.

Next up: Puccini’s Madame Butterfly< >< ><–>