Utah Opera's The Human Voice and Gentleman's Island

The Utah Opera 2020-2021 season was meant to begin with Wagner's The Flying Dutchman but, since it is a large and complicated production, it was replaced by a more intimate double bill of The Human Voice by Francois Poulenc and Gentleman's Island by Joseph Horovitz in order to comply with Covid-19 guidelines.  I usually prefer the classic tragedies sung in German or Italian but I was very intrigued by the premise of both of these operas because they both explore the theme of isolation which is very appropriate for these times.  The evening began with The Human Voice which is based on the play La voix humaine by Jean Cocteau but updated to feature modern technology to emphasize the isolation between two people.  The audience overhears Elle's (Wendy Bryn Harmer) side of a phone conversation with her lover of five years who has called her to inform her that he is getting married to someone else the next day.  She goes back and forth between many different emotions as she professes her love for him, expresses remorse for hurting him, threatens suicide to manipulate him, rages against his betrayal, and then succumbs to sorrow as he hangs up.  Harmer conveys these emotions brilliantly with subtle variations in her voice and it is surprisingly very compelling.  The set consists of a bedroom in an apartment with a city skyline projected on a screen behind it.  At various points in their conversation, images from her iPad are also projected on the screen as she reminisces about their life together and one of the most poignant moments occurs when she deletes pictures of him.  The score, which features just the piano, is sometimes incredibly beautiful and sometimes strident depending upon Elle's mood.  After a brief pause to change the set (there is not an intermission to avoid gathering in the lobby) the evening continued with Gentleman's Island which is very different in tone but also explores the isolation that happens when social conventions are taken too far.  Mr. Gray (Brian Stucki), a tea taster, and Mr. Somers (Christopher Clayton), an indigo importer, are the only survivors of a shipwreck and land on a deserted island.  Since they have not been formally introduced, etiquette forbids them from talking to each other.  They each claim a portion of the beach, one where there is an abundance of oysters and one where there is an abundance of turtles, but they each prefer the other's food supply and cannot abide their own.  Rather than risk a social faux pas, they each resign themselves to starving to death.  Stucki and Clayton give incredibly playful performances as proper Victorian Englishmen and the music is quite light and airy.  The set is very minimal with the seashore projected on a screen with the musicians behind it instead of in the pit.  It was a delightful performance after the heightened drama of The Human Voice.  I was so happy to be back at Capitol Theatre and I was very impressed with the precautions taken to keep the audience safe (socially distant seating, contactless ticketing, mandatory masks, and digital programs).  I highly recommend this production which continues through October 18 (go here for tickets).