The Lyric Opera of Kansas City closed its 50^th season with the world premiere of John Brown by Kirke Mechem.

Show reviewed:  John Brown
Date saw the show:  May 11, 2008 (World premiere engagement)
Place saw the show:  Kansas City, Missouri
Company: Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Principal Leads: James Maddalena, Donnie Ray Albert, Jennifer Aylmer, Patrick Miller, David Gagnon
Stage Director: Kristine McIntyre
Conductor:  Ward Holmquist
Composer/Librettist:  Kirke Mechem 

4 Stars

Reviewed by: Deborah Ground Buckner (Kansas City Correspondent - USA)

The Lyric Opera of Kansas City closed its 50^th season with the world premiere of John Brown by Kirke Mechem.  This is only the third time the company has staged a premiere, following Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines in 1970 and Coyote Tales in 1988.  Kansas City is an excellent venue for John Brown since Brown's abolitionist activities in Kansas live on in the history of the bloody "border wars" that terrorized Kansas and Missouri in the years preceding the Civil War.

John Brown will always be a controversial figure in history.  He has been held as a martyr by many for his actions and death in his fight of slavery.  Yet, even most of the Northern abolitionists of his time preferred peaceful methods of resistance and withdrew themselves from Brown and his path of violence.  In Kansas in 1856, Brown led the Pottawatomie Massacre in which five pro-slavery Southerners were killed.  His 1859 raid on the federal armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, which led to his conviction and execution for treason, resulted in the deaths of seven people, including one freed black man, with at least ten others seriously injured.  An opera bearing his name as its title is likely to present him in a sympathetic light, but composer Kirke Mechem does not avoid introducing the negative views of Brown and his methods.   

Mechem tells Brown's story in three acts.  Act I, set in Lawrence, in Kansas Territory, on December 8, 1855, opens with a conflict between the free-state settlers of Kansas and a mob of pro-slavers from Missouri.  The Kansans hurl accusations that the Missouri ruffians had invaded Kansas and voted fraudulently, resulting in the territory being governed by a pro-slave Governor.  Governor Shannon (John Stephens/bass) is first and foremost a politician, as is Charles Robinson (Nathan Whitson/bass), the leader of the Kansas free settlers.  Neither appreciates the challenges received from his own supporters, Robinson from the abolitionist John Brown (James Maddalena/baritone) and the Governor from Sheriff Jones (Benjamin Hilgert/tenor), a man as bloodthirsty as the Missouri mob he should be controlling.  Governor Shannon summons the military, but only Lt. J. E. B. Stuart (David Gagnon/tenor) arrives.  Stuart, in his trademark hat with sweeping peacock feather, engages in a debate with Brown on the issue of slavery and comments on the ill treatment blacks receive in the North.  Gagnon is dashing in the role with a pleasing voice that, unfortunately, was sometimes overpowered by the orchestra. 

The character of Martha (Jennifer Aylmer/soprano) is introduced as a love interest for Brown's son, Oliver (Patrick Miller/tenor).  Martha sings of how she and her brother, Tom (Tyler Simpson/bass/baritone), traveled to Kansas for its beauty and laments, "Is no sun so warm that it can melt the hearts of men?"  When her brother is killed in the fray, she begs Oliver to leave with her, but he is committed to his father's cause.  Brown sings of how he, like Moses, has been chosen to set God's people free.  In response to Martha's anguish, the Governor announces a treaty of peace, though Brown warns it will not bring an end to the injustices.

Act II opens in a meadow in Kansas where Brown and other abolitionists have gathered.  Daniel  (Robert McNichols, Jr./baritone), a former slave, sings of his new-found freedom, and his decision to change his name to Daniel because he has been freed, like the Biblical Daniel from the lion's den.  The melody is rich, in the form of old Negro spirituals.  Oliver and Brown arrive with news that a band of Southerners has invaded Kansas to kill Brown.  They are being aided and supported by slave-holders in Pottawatomie Creek.  Martha has come to say good-bye, singing of the nightmares she faces when "night was once a balm, dreams a sweet escape."  Oliver tells of his love for her and persuades her to stay.  The famed orator, Frederick Douglass (Donnie Ray Albert/baritone) arrives to visit Brown.  Douglass speaks of his astonishment to have heard others maintain "the singing of slaves is proof they are happy and content," arguing "The songs of the slave are the sorrows of his heart."  As the song concludes in Albert's rich baritone, Douglass and Daniel exchange a deep, meaningful look.

The crowd persuades Douglass to re-create for them his famous oratory delivered in England on "What Is American Slavery?"  Albert nearly stopped the production with this rich delivery of this moving work, ending with the statement "we ask America to complete its own revolution, that all men are created equal."

Southern supporters, aided by Lt. J.E.B. Stuart, ride up to the camp, searching for a runaway slave.  Taking Douglass for the man, the mob beats him until he produces his papers showing he is a free man.  The Southerners gather up books belonging to the abolitionists and burn them, with Stuart assisting, singing of how they will "serve them up Southern fried."  When the mob leaves, the abolitionists silently gather in a circle, joining hands, then sing the old hymn, "Let Us Break Bread Together."   

Scene 2 takes the action to a formal parlor in Concord, Massachusetts, where Northern abolitionists have gathered to praise Brown, the ladies providing clothing they have sewn to aid in the cause.  Brown announces his plans to carry his fight into Virginia.  Amos Lawrence (Nathan Whitson/bass), the wealthy manufacturer for whom the Kansas town of Lawrence was named, denounces the plan and Brown's methods, warning that he will plunge the nation into Civil War.  Both sides of the controversial views of Brown and his work are represented in the arguments of Lawrence and of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Andrew Harris/bass-baritone), with Emerson calling to mind the old hymn by Robert Lowell, "Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide."  The debate ends with Northerners presenting their gifts of clothing and money to Brown for his work. 

Act III opens in a farmhouse in Maryland where Brown's family is waiting for the moment to carry out their plan.  A freed slave comes to join Brown, but Frederick Douglass, hearing of Brown's new plan to raid the federal arsenal, says he cannot participate in this act.  The former slave chooses to "stay with the old man" and when asked why he will follow Brown to what leads to almost certain death, he presents a letter from his wife (Vanessa Thomas/soprano).  Thomas appears in the shadows, singing as the letter is read, a lament begging her husband to come and purchase her before she is to be sold far away.  Thomas beautifully conveys the plaintive letter, creating another near show-stopping moment.  Brown sends his sons out, Oliver exiting with the line "you want your sons brave as tigers but still afraid of you."  Brown and his daughter, Annie (Holly White/mezzo-soprano) share a quiet moment as Brown reflects upon his life up to this point. 

The final scene shows the aftermath of the raid on Harper's Ferry, with soldiers carrying away the dead while a dying Oliver asks his wounded father to sing to him one last time.  Brown asserts to his guards "I believe I did not wrong, but right."  A confederate approaches Brown with a rescue plan, but he halts it, saying he is "worth more by hanging." 

While Brown is led to the scaffold, Martha, Douglass and others gather to mark the moment of his execution.  A reprise of Lowell's hymn adds great drama to the moment when Brown is hanged.  Douglass concludes the opera with the ringing statement "You cannot bury him!  As long as men love freedom, John Brown will never die."

Mechem's work is breathtaking, aided by the rich performances of Maddalena and Albert, with stellar support from the rest of the cast, particularly Thomas as the slave woman.  I would like to see a bit more action, and think at least some of the actual raid on Harper's Ferry should be presented.  There is rich build up to the event, and seeing Act III, Scene 2 begin with its aftermath was a disappointment.  Length of the production is an issue (running just over three hours), and Mechem might be advised to shorten or eliminate Brown's song of reflection just before the Harper's Ferry raid and allow that performance time to present a glimpse of the raid itself.  One attendee commented on the lack of action throughout the work, with many scenes of characters simply standing about with nothing to do.  In the scenes with Frederick Douglass presenting his anti-slave views, of John Brown telling of his calling to be another Moses, and the gathering of the great thinkers of New England, this is appropriate.  The early years of the abolitionist movement was a time of great oratory, and the opera captures the spirit of that time.  But Brown was a man of violent acts, and the audiences should see some of this.  Brown himself was quoted as saying, "These men are all talk.  What we need is action-action!"