There are many kinds of love. There is the love between partners, a love forged through years of companionship, romance and conflict. There is the love between friends, tempered by years spent together as well but with completely different ties of intimacy. But what does it mean to love art? The brand new opera “Art and Desire,” written by Maura Bosch and presented by the University Opera, investigates these kinds of love in high-concept fashion.
The story follows a meeting at a bar between the widow of Jackson Pollock (the artist), Lee Krasner, and Pollock’s old friend Clement Greenberg. The two come together to discuss their passions for life, love, art and the deceased.
Stretching the boundaries of space and time, the two are soon interrupted by a man who seems to be the dead Mr. Pollock. As this development increasingly pulls the show into an abstract landscape, the central question, “How do you reconcile loving art as much as life?” comes to the fore.
“The piece is not an action-driven piece,” director William Farlow explained. “Rather it’s about these ideas, this discussion about art. … It’s about the love a wife has for her husband, about the love between the friends, and most importantly, it’s about the love of art.”
The high minded and dramatic concepts of the show are grounded by the character of the bartender who acts as an observer and commentator on the various discussions and occurrences that happen throughout. He also provides the show with comic relief from the otherwise heady material.
“The bartender helps carry through the line of the show; he also makes sort of rude comments about the artists they’re talking about,” Farlow added.
The opera is very intimate, as it features only six singers representing both the undergraduate School of Music and the Masters Opera program.
“That’s one of the strongest things about the opera program here. It’s a rare opera that isn’t equally representative of undergraduates, master’s candidates and doctoral candidates. … As it turns out, half of this cast are undergraduates, and half are master’s students,” Farlow said.
Designed by Angelina Paoli, the set purports to be a realistic depiction of a New York City bar.
“[The set] is a very realistic depiction of a small, old Irish American dive of a New York bar, with a lot of detail work,” Farlow said. “And through dirty glass windows we also see part of the street outside.”
The orchestra features a saxophone player and vibraphone player onstage. In the pit there is string quartet, a woodwind quintet and two percussionists playing a variety of instruments under the conduction of doctoral candidate Ching-Chun Lai.
And while directing such an intellectually based show poses a number of distinct challenges, directing a world premier brings an entirely different slew of considerations.
“I’ve done a lot of world premiers over the past seven years. What’s fascinating is you have the composer there to ask questions, find out what they meant when they wrote something. Most of the time with opera the composers are long dead, and until they invent a time machine there’s nothing you can do about it. To do a piece for the first time is a great honor, but it’s a huge responsibility, because you want to give whatever new work you’re doing the best sendoff possible.” Farlow continued.
Floating atop beautiful lines of music, an exploration into the intricacies of art and love set against a retrospective of Jackson Pollock’s life and career should prove fascinating and stimulating for the discerning audience. But, if you simply love life, art or love, “Art and Desire” may be able to offer you new perspectives on the subjects or bolster how you already feel.
The shows run Friday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 22 at 3:00 p.m. this weekend only. Tickets are $10 for the public, $9 for senior citizens and $5.00 for UW-Madison students, available through the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office (608-262-220).
