Opera Reviews
29 March 2024
Untitled Document

Equinox proves the case for indigenous opera



by Jonathan Sutherland
Brkanović: Equinox
Croatian National Theatre
March 2015

While indigenous opera may not be fashionable in most countries, in the Balkans there is a long tradition of supporting local composers and operas in the vernacular. The Slovenian National Theatre in Ljubljana for example commissions a new opera every year – and the good Slovenes fill the theatre as if they were going to yet another production of Carmen

Not to be outdone, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb has just staged a new production of Ivan Brkanović’s Equinox (Ekvinocij) based on the play by Ivo Vojnović (1857-1929). Previous productions in Zagreb in 1950 and 1978 were deemed a success, but for some reason the opera fell into obscurity for the past 50 years.

The plot could have been written by Brecht or Strindberg. It is dark and brooding with a fatalist Greek tragedy feel about it. Despite the bad guy’s all too frequent musical-hall ‘hahaha’s’, there are not exactly a lot of laughs. The Ibsen-like realism of the story is hardly original but powerful nevertheless. Set in Dubrovnik in the 1860’s, a gullible religious girl (Jele) is seduced by local roué (Niko) who does a Don Giovanni style flit leaving Jele to raise a son (Ivo) as a single mother. To save her reputation Jele tells everyone that Ivo’s father was drowned at sea.

Twenty-seven years later when the opera opens, Niko returns from America a very rich man and decides to marry Ivo’s girlfriend (Anica). Jele recognizes her former seducer and begs him to make an honest woman out of her to save her soul. Niko refuses, ridicules Jele’s devotion to the Catholic church and says he is only interested in cute young bimbos and not old hags with grey hair.

When Ivo discovers that Niko plans to steal his sweetheart, he decides to kill him during the tempestuous equinox. Jele intervenes and tells her son that the boorish American braggart with too many bucks is actually his father and patricide is not a great idea. Ivo is not exactly overjoyed at this news but is unable to commit such a Sophoclean crime. Ivo decides to also seek his fortune in America.  With Jele’s assistance Anica sneaks onto the boat to join her boyfriend. When Niko finds out that his bride-to-be has run off, he threatens to have the ship stopped and the eloping pair arrested. Jele begs Niko to show mercy to his own son but he callously refuses and Jele finally kills her unrepentant defiler.

Certainly gripping stuff and the dramatic elements of the opera, as in Jenůfa or Káťa Kabanová almost seem more important than the musical component. In fact the declamatory style of Brkanović’s vocal score shows strong similarities to Janáček combined with orchestral hints of Puccini, particularly Il tabarro and La fanciulla del West. There is even a direct reference to the opening measure of Rachmaninoff’s Op. 3/2 Prelude in C# Minor in the ominous descending three-chord motif that permeates the opera.

The partitura, written without any specified key signatures but an abundance of accidentals, is a complex, dissonant, chromatic, idiosyncratic work with incessant changes in time signature and a preponderance of lower instrumental tone colours. It is at its best when mirroring the destructive elements of the equinox as in the Symphonic Intermezzo; at its worst in its absence of recognizable melodies or memorable musical phrases. The trio between Jele, Ivo and Anica in Act I is the closest the opera comes to Mascagni-like lyricism. It is the conflict and interaction between Jele-Niko and Jele-Ivo which provide the dramatic and musical highpoints.

The single-set production by Slovenian director Igor Pison designed by Nicola Minssen updates the drama to the present day, complete with mobile phones, jeans and cocktails. Textual incongruities abound (eg. gold coins haven’t been seen since the days of the Karađorđević dynasty) and the small Dalmatian fishing village looked more like a Tito era Yugo car repair yard. Niko literally throws dollars around at the impoverished locals who inexplicably leave them lying on the floor for the next two acts. No awards for directional achievement.

The singing by the all-Croatian cast of this extremely difficult score was variable but for the most part impressive. As the headstrong son Ivo, tenor Domagoj Dorotić was dramatically convincing and displayed a fine Italianate tone-colour with a ringing, impressive top. The high Bb’s on Zar ti and Olujo in the important Act II confrontation with Jele were bright, clarion-like and effortless.

Looking rather like Thurston Howell III in Gilligan’s Island, the role of Niko was snarled, barked and haha’ed by Giorgio Surian. The high tessitura and constantly chromatic demands of the role (eg. the top Eb to low Db glissando on vidim in Act II Sc. 5) were more or less satisfied and the arrogant malevolence of the character adequately, if unsubtly conveyed.

In the pivotal role of the abandoned mother Jele, mezzo-soprano Dubravka Šeparović Mušović gave the most impressive performance of the evening. Similar to Kostelnička Buryjovka in Jenůfa, the part makes formidable dramatic and vocal demands on the interpreter and in almost all respects, Mušović excelled. Jele’s confrontation with Niko in Act II is dramatically the high-point of the libretto and the depth of feeling in what is arguably the opera’s only real aria (Dubi samo, dubi, dubi) was very moving. The wide tessitura of the part was well managed in all ranges except the very top where there was occasionally a tendency to sing slightly below pitch. This could have been the result of dramatic intensity as her top Bb’s (eg. za tebe ove) and top Ab ff glissando on huljo! which concludes Act II were reminiscent of the vocal dexterity of Cathy Berberian.

Keeping a tight rein on the large orchestra and excellent chorus, veteran Croatian conductor Nikša Bareza managed to navigate this highly complex score with admirable precision and unflagging energy. The Symphonic Intermezzo where Brkanović uses extended instrumental dissonance to represent the equinoctial storm at sea which in turn mirrors the characters’ inner turmoil, was an orchestral tour-de-force with chorus and off-stage singers adding to the intensity. There is extraordinary force and early Shostakovich-like vitality in the rhythmic and dynamic oscillations which make this instrumental entr’acte of considerable musical interest.

Whether the opera as a whole is worthy of the same attention is a moot point. Although local critics suggested that Ekvinocij should be seen on operatic stages outside Croatia, it took a devoted champion in the form of Sir Charles Mackerras in the 1980’s to make the works of Janáček known in Western Europe. If maestro Bareza can do the same with Brkanović, it will be no small achievement.                      

Text © Jonathan Sutherland
Photo © Mara Bratos
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