Queen Mary in Virginia

By Annalyn Swan

Norfolk launches Thea Musgrave's newest opera

Norfolk, home of the world's largest naval base, may have launched a thousand ships, but it has never christened much, in the way of the arts. The city (pop. 330,000) lacks the colonial quaintness of nearby Williamsburg, the antebellum allure of Savannah or Charleston's successful new Spoleto Festival. But in 1975, Norfolk acquired some culture: the Virginia Opera Association. The founders were a group of wealthy, energetic women who took over the old 1,800-seat Center Theater, a concrete WPA-era pile blessed only with good acoustics. They pushed ticket sales hard and put on La Boheme. What's more, they played to a full house.

Three seasons later, the V.O.A. has grown into a small but lively stable company. With Peter Mark, 37, as its artistic director and conductor, the group draws its orchestra and chorus from the nearby area and casts young stars from the regional opera circuit in principal roles. V.O.A. began by wooing its audience with bubbly comic stalwarts (The Barber of Seville) and Puccini tearjerkers (Madama Butterfly).

Last week, in a giant step, the V.O.A. abandoned the standard repertory and embraced 20th century music by presenting the American premiere of Mary, Queen of Scots, a grand opera by Scottish Composer Thea Musgrave, 49. The choice was audacious. Mary calls for 13 principals and a 32-member chorus, a taxing assignment for V.O.A.'s limited resources and tiny (28 ft. deep) stage. V.O.A. gambled and won--to prolonged applause.

Mary, Queen of Scots chronicles the seven-year period from Mary's return to Scotland in 1561, the widow of the King of France, to her flight to England in 1568, forced by her half brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray. Musgrave, the composer and the wife of Artistic Director Mark, also wrote the libretto. Her story crackles with emotional tension: between Mary, young, lovely and impulsive; James, who craves power; the hotheaded soldier, the Earl of Both well; and the weak courtier, Lord Darnley, her cousin who becomes her husband.

Originally commissioned by the Scottish Opera, the music is built on a dissonant counterpoint between the vocal lines and orchestration. Although it has little charm or lyricism, the score does have strength. And there are some masterly touches, as in a ballroom scene in Act 1 in which Bothwell (sung by Barry Busse) and his soldiers watch awkwardly as Mary (Ashley Putnam) and her courtiers dance stately pavanes. Infuriated by the perfumed elegance, Bothwell strides forward and belts forth a rough Scottish reel. The roistering tune and sinister tremolo accompaniment overwhelm the lutelike Renaissance melody of the dance--and the musical battle foreshadows real ones to come.

There was not a weak voice or wooden actor in the company. Ashley Putnam, 25, is a talented, striking new star who debuted professionally with the V.O.A. back in 1976, two months before she shared first place in the prestigious Metropolitan Opera national auditions. Her lustrous soprano voice handles high notes with authority, and her acting is good enough for Broadway. She manages to crystallize certain moments: a softened look at James (Jake Gardner) even as they feud; a coquettish triumph as queen of her ball.

The whole enterprise worked together with remarkable precision. The chorus had rehearsed weekly since last November, and the principals had arrived in early March for their own thorough coaching. "Many companies around the country indulge in 'instant opera,' spending all of their money on one star who comes in three days before the performance," says Mark. "But we want a healthy balance of drama and music."

The list of subscribers has grown from 3,600 for the first full season to 6,500 for the current three-production season, and the budget from what one board member calls "deficit spending" to $370,000 this year and a projected $500,000 the next. All the shows are sold out.

A dashing, ebullient musician and professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Mark spends half of each year at Norfolk, polishing productions and scouting new talent. Another power behind Mary's throne is Edythe Harrison, the iron-willed president of V.O.A. A self-proclaimed promoter, she hounded--among others--her next-door neighbor Norfolk Mayor Vincent Thomas for support; the city finally built an orchestra pit in the Center Theater and refurbished it (at a combined cost of $100,000). She even, so the story goes, got a little help on the side from the Navy in transporting the Scottish Opera's ornate costumes from Scotland to Norfolk.

The next step, according to Harrison, is to transform Norfolk into a "major opera center," with summer and light opera and a touring company. "If we've done what we've done in three years, we can certainly accomplish that," says Harrison confidently. If Mary is any measure, she is right.

-Annalyn Swan

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