Utah Opera's Flight

I usually do not like operas based on contemporary librettos or ones that are sung in English so when Utah Opera announced the 2021-2022 season I was not very interested in Flight.  However, the more I heard about it, the more excited I became to see it.  I had the opportunity last night and, to my surprise, I really loved it.  A Refugee (John Holiday) has been living at an international airport for weeks because he lacks the documentation to leave while a Controller (Abigail Rethwisch) watches everything that happens from high above in her tower.  She enjoys having the power to send planes into the sky while he is powerless.  Soon they are joined by Bill (Daniel O'Hearn) and Tina (Julia Gershkoff), a couple going on a tropical holiday to try and rekindle the spark in their marriage, an insecure Older Woman (Deanne Week) waiting for her much younger fiance, whom she met on holiday in Mallorca, to join her, a Steward (Evan Hammond) and Stewardess (Edith Grossman) involved in a passionate relationship whenever they can find a stolen moment to be together, and the Minskman (Stephen Pace) and his pregnant wife, the Minskwoman (Elise Quagliata), on their way to a diplomatic assignment in Minsk until she has second thoughts about going and he leaves without her.  When a dangerous electrical storm grounds every flight, they are stranded in the terminal together all night.  This brings out the worst in them and the Controller laments the fact that her domain has been invaded by people.  In the morning, when flights are resumed, the Minskman returns because he cannot live without his wife and she goes into labor.  The birth of the child causes everyone to regret their behavior the night before, particularly their behavior towards the Refugee.  When the Immigration Officer (Seth Keeton) arrests the Refugee, many of them intercede on his behalf but the officer is unmoved.  The Refugee then relates how he came to be in the airport which causes the Controller to plead for mercy.  The officer ultimately decides to turn a blind eye and allow him to remain at the airport and, after the others board their flights, the Refugee is welcomed home by the Controller.  I found this narrative to be incredibly compelling and, while I certainly enjoyed the beautiful music and the outstanding performances by everyone in the cast, I loved the search for belonging that is a theme running through every character's arc.  It is very powerful, especially when the Controller finds belonging with the Refugee.  I also loved that the airport represents a sort of limbo (anyone who has ever had a long layover before reaching a destination can attest to this) for the characters which allows for an intriguing exploration of human nature.  The minimalistic set, which is a modern departure lounge of an unnamed international airport with large windows showing a plane on the tarmac, arrival and departure monitors, a gate, a podium, and rows of black seats (which reminded me of those at LAX), is highly effective and the costumes are fun, especially the uniforms worn by the Steward and Stewardess.  Finally, I loved the lighting effects used to mimic the takeoff and landing of a plane.  I am so glad that I gave this opera a chance (I probably would not have gotten a ticket if I wasn't a season subscriber) because I loved it so much more than I thought I would.  There are two more performances (go here for tickets) and I definitely recommend taking a flight with Tri-Star Airlines!