
Blog: Archives: 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 About/Contact	The Secondary Modern Emily Slee on John Metcalf's A Chair in Love A Chair in Love, Wales Millennium Centre Weston Studio, 17th July 2008 Director Keith Turnbull Composer John Metcalf Librettist Larry Tremblay Performed by Pierre-Etienne Bergeron, Charlotte Ellett, Michael Douglas Jones, Mireille Lebel and the Ensemble Pentadedre. I was once told with some contempt by someone I was romantically involved with that I paid the dog far more attention. Well the dog sits faithfully at my feet as I type this and the complainant… I have no idea. A Chair in Love tells the story of a ridiculous and unsuitable love affair pitted against the true love of man’s best friend. I am happy to report that all ends well, in this case a dog was indeed for life and the chair…well it appears she goes on a cruise. Sounds odd? It is, but in a glorious madcap way that only people who have spent a winter in Montreal are capable of. I speak from experience here, the long winters and strange Franco-English mix tend to send artists barking (forgive the pun) and pieces like A Chair in Love are the wonderful results. A Chair in Love is an odd piece to experience in many ways, not least because of the bizarre plot. It is a stripped down opera (just four singers, five musicians, and pared-down composition to match). The musicians add to the conceptual feel of the piece, wandering in and out of the action like ghosts, but not quite, their performance brilliant but understated. The sets are equally simplistic, if surreal (a metal frame indicating a house and dog kennel as if crafted out of scaffolding; an oversized chair alongside a regular chair giving a Dali-esque feel which is continued via video projections reminiscent of LSD trips). Despite the additions Chair does not feel like an overly experimental feel; in its nods to the traditional form of opera it walks an interesting line between homage and parody, a question composer John Metcalf seems to enjoy struggling with, and allowing his audience to struggle with also. This is significant in any attempt at creating a modern opera: ‘Modern’ and ‘Opera’ are to many people not only an oxymoron but something akin to blasphemy. The notion of a ‘modern opera’ is of course notoriously difficult, questions of what to change and how much can be kept so that we can still call it ‘Opera’. Metcalf has grappled with these issues in his previous work, notably the critically acclaimed Kafka’s Monkey. A chair in Love certainly continues these artistic questions, playing with form and challenging expectations. The music is traditionally operatic, veering little from anything you would hear in the repertoire of the Welsh National Opera (should their budget receive some further drastic cuts that is). In addition the plot, which although absurd sounding is no more so than the average Opera plot: ridiculous, unattainable, with the protagonists falling in and out of quickly alongside the faithful friend who was there all along, and true love with some wise words from a pillar of society thrown in. All familiar themes, had they been sung in Italian or a similar romantic tongue on a big stage with an even bigger lady would be indistinguishable from a traditional Operas. Does putting them in a small room and replacing characters with dogs and chairs make it less so or even make it all that innovative? In answer to both, probably not, but does this make the evening less worthwhile? Definitely not. A Chair in Love is a charming piece and a truly entertaining evening. The opening lines bring a smile to the faces of the audience which scarcely fade the entire evening. This is a piece whose triumph of content over form proves serious artistic points do not require serious artistic results. This is undoubtedly the true strength of Metcalf and librettist Larry Tremblay’s piece, because whether the purists appreciate it or not, the biggest challenge to modern opera is an audience. Opera is perceived by many in its traditional form as dated, rendering it dull and irrelevant, and while A chair in Love cannot fully resist the call of the weird and experimental (and why should it) the grounding in very real, charming characters makes it a rare thing: an accessible and entertaining Opera that can be described as thoroughly modern. © 2008 Emily Slee
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Emily Slee on John Metcalf's A Chair in Love

A Chair in Love, Wales Millennium Centre Weston Studio, 17th July 2008

Director Keith Turnbull

Composer John Metcalf

Librettist Larry Tremblay

Performed by Pierre-Etienne Bergeron, Charlotte Ellett, Michael Douglas Jones, Mireille Lebel and the Ensemble Pentadedre.

I was once told with some contempt by someone I was romantically involved with that I paid the dog far more attention. Well the dog sits faithfully at my feet as I type this and the complainant… I have no idea. A Chair in Love tells the story of a ridiculous and unsuitable love affair pitted against the true love of man’s best friend. I am happy to report that all ends well, in this case a dog was indeed for life and the chair…well it appears she goes on a cruise. Sounds odd? It is, but in a glorious madcap way that only people who have spent a winter in Montreal are capable of. I speak from experience here, the long winters and strange Franco-English mix tend to send artists barking (forgive the pun) and pieces like A Chair in Love are the wonderful results.

A Chair in Love is an odd piece to experience in many ways, not least because of the bizarre plot. It is a stripped down opera (just four singers, five musicians, and pared-down composition to match). The musicians add to the conceptual feel of the piece, wandering in and out of the action like ghosts, but not quite, their performance brilliant but understated. The sets are equally simplistic, if surreal (a metal frame indicating a house and dog kennel as if crafted out of scaffolding; an oversized chair alongside a regular chair giving a Dali-esque feel which is continued via video projections reminiscent of LSD trips). Despite the additions Chair does not feel like an overly experimental feel; in its nods to the traditional form of opera it walks an interesting line between homage and parody, a question composer John Metcalf seems to enjoy struggling with, and allowing his audience to struggle with also. This is significant in any attempt at creating a modern opera: ‘Modern’ and ‘Opera’ are to many people not only an oxymoron but something akin to blasphemy. The notion of a ‘modern opera’ is of course notoriously difficult, questions of what to change and how much can be kept so that we can still call it ‘Opera’.

Metcalf has grappled with these issues in his previous work, notably the critically acclaimed Kafka’s Monkey. A chair in Love certainly continues these artistic questions, playing with form and challenging expectations. The music is traditionally operatic, veering little from anything you would hear in the repertoire of the Welsh National Opera (should their budget receive some further drastic cuts that is). In addition the plot, which although absurd sounding is no more so than the average Opera plot: ridiculous, unattainable, with the protagonists falling in and out of quickly alongside the faithful friend who was there all along, and true love with some wise words from a pillar of society thrown in. All familiar themes, had they been sung in Italian or a similar romantic tongue on a big stage with an even bigger lady would be indistinguishable from a traditional Operas. Does putting them in a small room and replacing characters with dogs and chairs make it less so or even make it all that innovative? In answer to both, probably not, but does this make the evening less worthwhile? Definitely not.

A Chair in Love is a charming piece and a truly entertaining evening. The opening lines bring a smile to the faces of the audience which scarcely fade the entire evening. This is a piece whose triumph of content over form proves serious artistic points do not require serious artistic results. This is undoubtedly the true strength of Metcalf and librettist Larry Tremblay’s piece, because whether the purists appreciate it or not, the biggest challenge to modern opera is an audience. Opera is perceived by many in its traditional form as dated, rendering it dull and irrelevant, and while A chair in Love cannot fully resist the call of the weird and experimental (and why should it) the grounding in very real, charming characters makes it a rare thing: an accessible and entertaining Opera that can be described as thoroughly modern.