(Photo: Pádraig Grant)

In 1907, J.M. Synge’s play “The Playboy of the Western World” caused rioting when it premiered at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. It was not so much the portrayal of its central character, Christy Mahon, who turns up in a Mayo town, claiming to be on the run for killing his father, but the reaction of the local women, who are completely enamored with the outlaw, particularly Pegeen, who is already betrothed to be married. The public reacted with outrage, seeing the play as an offense to public morality and an insult to the women of Ireland. Not only would Irish women obviously never behave in such a manner, but there was even a reference to females “standing in their shifts.” But as they say, “all publicity is good publicity,” and in 1911 the Abbey Theatre, headed by one of its founders Lady Gregory, took the play to the United States where they found its large Irish immigrant population stirred up by the Catholic church and the Fenian nationalists on high alert!

The opera “Lady Gregory in America,” written by Italian composer Alberto Caruso and librettist and author Colm Tóibín, is a light-hearted, humorous take on its eventful tour.

As well as covering the main events, including the play’s hostile reception from audiences and the arrest of the entire cast, along with Lady Gregory, in Philadelphia, for performing an immoral and indecent play, it also took in Lady Gregory’s amorous liaison with John Quinn, the company’s defense attorney. For a little added spice and an extra dash of humor, Tóibín added Mrs. Kerrigan, who sneaks aboard the ship to New York incognito with the sole aim of putting a stop to the blooming romance between her innocent son and the quite u

nsuitable Molly Allgood, who are both actors in the play.

Tóibín’s Sharply Focused Libretto

Tóibín’s libretto was expertly crafted. Not only did he move the narrative along at a fairly rapid pace, but through direct and oblique references to the cultural situation in Ireland during the early part of the 20th century, such as the influence of the Catholic church, Irish emigration, the undercurrent of nationalist feelings, the conservative values and outlook of the population, the reach and power of the extended family, and the role of the artist in society, he succinctly created a layered context against which the events played out. His precise and economic use of language, however, ensured that they remained firmly in the background, clearly dictating events, but without interrupting the narrative, which focused on the individuals, particularly on Lady Gregory and her determination to ensure the show went ahead. This was not her only concern, nor was it for the rest of the troupe; love also had a big role in play.

The speed with which he was able to flesh out his characters was also impressive; the audience was almost immediately well-disposed towards all of them, even to Mrs. Kerrigan, who spent most of her time trying to spy on her son’s relationship with Molly Allgood.

His crafting of each scene, each interaction and each utterance was expertly judged, not just in relation to the relaying of the narrative or in managing the dramatic tensions, but also through his successful introduction of light comedy, both directly through speech and through the creation of opportunities for a director to exploit. The humor was gentle but very funny, and though he mocked the values of the period, it was never in a condescending or vicious manner.

Caruso’s Sympathetic Score

Caruso’s score was beautifully constructed to meet the twists and turns of the libretto and expertly captured the changing pace of the drama. It is lively, at times playful, and possesses a pleasing forward momentum. Although it is sensitive to the characters’ situations, Caruso was careful not to allow the sound to develop a pretentious quality in an attempt to provide more depth than is actually present. On the other hand, it was far more than simple background music; rather, it was a sensitive composition that worked in partnership with the text, and which allowed the drama to bloom. It was also not without a sprinkling of engaging, easy-on-the-ear melodies, especially for choral pieces.

The accompaniment was for solo piano, which was played by Caruso himself.

Although the cast was relatively young and inexperienced, all produced detailed, committed and convincing performances.

Mezzo-soprano Erin Fflur created an energetic, self-confident and determined portrait of Lady Gregory, who took her role as the person in charge very seriously and worried about everything, including the personal lives of the actors. She was a typical 19th century upper-class woman, born into money and possessing a natural authority, all of which made her relationship with John Quinn, which developed almost without warning, all the more surprising. Fflur’s expressive singing was clear and articulate and successfully captured her character’s authoritative air.

Soprano Jane Burnell used her strong stage presence to good effect in her role as Molly Allgood, whom she portrayed as lively, cheeky and a little too forward for the likes of Mrs. Kerrigan. She was particularly successful in playing up the comedic aspects of her role. Her scene with young Kerrigan had the audience laughing out loud as she tried to put her tongue in his ear in an attempt to awaken his passions. She possesses an expressive, agile voice with an attractive lyricism that she used intelligently to develop her characterization.

Mezzo-soprano Bríd Ní Ghruagáin produced a strong performance as the formidable Mrs. Kerrigan, the overbearing and controlling mother figure. She skillfully used her voice to express her anxieties, fears and self-righteous anger. Her retraction in court of the claims she had made about the play, along with her discovery of love with the judge, turned her into a sympathetic figure, which ensured the work remained light and breezy.

The role of Kerrigan fell to the tenor Henry Strutt, who convincingly played him as a fresh-faced, naïve mummy’s boy, which he supported with an attractive, youthful and lyrically engaging singing performance. A fine duet with Molly proved to be one of the work’s musical highlights.

The rest of the cast essayed a variety of roles and tended to operate in groups. There were the three actresses, played by mezzo-soprano Helen Maree Cooper and sopranos Holly Teague and Deirdre Higgins, who also had their eyes on John Quinn. Even though they invariably appeared as a group, each managed to stamp their personality on their roles and made a positive impression.

There were numerous roles for male voices, including protesters, journalists, dockers and cops, which were played by tenors Cathal McCabe, Gabriel Seawright, Davide Zaccherini and Vladimir Sima; baritones Michael Ferguson and Christian Loizou; along with basses Lawrence Gillians and Henry Grant Kerswell. Each essayed a number of parts, and although they played their roles well, as individual singers they tended to fade into the group as their lines tended to be short and form part of the overall effect. A couple of performances did, however, standout, mainly because they were also given small individual roles. Gillians was parted as John Quinn, for which he managed to create a clearly defined character and show off the pleasing timbre of his voice, while Loizou sang the roles of the judge and of W.B. Yeats, both of whom he presented as sophisticated and refined. Kerswell, who seemed to appear at some point in many of this festival’s productions, caught the attention in four small roles, none of which were named individuals, with his confident stage presence and clear, resonant bass.

Spillane-Hinks Captures the Spirit of the Piece

A large part of the credit for the work’s success must go to the excellent direction of Aoife Spillane-Hinks and her team, consisting of Lisa Krugel, set and costume design, and Maksym Diedov, lighting design. Working with limited resources, they managed to capture the early 20th century atmosphere with costumes taken from the period, which was set against a painted wooden backdrop with a poster advertising the Abbey Theatre’s production of “The Playboy of the Western World.” It worked very well as it was able to transform from a simple street scene, using suitable lighting and rearrangement of a few chairs and crates, into a dock area, the theater, a cabin on the ship or even the courtroom. It was all very simple, yet very successful, as it was easy to open up the small performance space for the cast to undertake some fairly complex and crowded scenes.

Spillane-Hinks captured the spirit of the work by combining the underlying tensions of the drama with its comedic elements; her handling of each scene was imaginative, humorous and dramatically sound, as was her presentation and development of the characters. Certainly, she has a sharp eye for comedy. For example, her treatment of the cops was very amusing, as she had them acting with exaggerated coordinated movements as in a silent movie, making them appear ridiculous. She also exposed the hypocritical and the absurd in certain positions taken by the characters by adding an amusing veneer. In the theater scene, in which a part of the play was performed and the talk is about “shifts” and the purity of Irish women, she played up the part by having the actresses suggestively lift their dresses above their ankles and winking at the audience, which was met with heckling and booing from protesters who invaded the auditorium from the rear. The audience simultaneously laughed as it was directly confronted by one of the conflicts that drove the drama forward. It was a common thread; the tensions that existed between Molly and Mrs. Kerrigan were real, and while she developed them well, she also drew attention to their absurdity by making the audience laugh at the situation. Most importantly, however, her presentation was easy to follow and very entertaining.

“Lady Gregory In America” is a strong opera from two artists with a natural feel for the stage and builds upon the success of their first collaboration, “The Master,” which was premiered at the festival two years ago. Hopefully, there is a third in the pipeline.