I'm in awe of everyone who contributed to the production of "Two Boys", a brand new opera by Nico Muhly now playing at the Metropolitan Opera House. Muhly, the youngest composer ever commissioned by the Met, more than justified the honor with the debut of this haunting composition. The libretto, by Obie Award- and Excellence in Literature Award-winner Craig Lucas, brings a chilling murder mystery to life -- in the most elaborate form of art that there is.
The opera is based on real events that happened 10 years ago in Manchester, where a 16-year-old boy, Brian, almost killed a younger boy after being coaxed by "friends" he met online in a chat room. Onstage, this drama unravels like an SVU episode: the various pieces of the puzzle accumulate gradually, until you're hit like a truck with a reveal that leaves you reeling -- implicated as a witness to these lost children who feel voiceless in our world.
Detective Anne Strawson (beautifully portrayed by Alice Coote) reluctantly takes on the case; she is poised and sensually rich in this role. As she reads the transcripts from the online conversations between the teens, we also follow the journey through the visually alluring projected chat room messages; in this way, we are able to relate to her feeling of compassion and frustration with the ever-expanding case. Paul Appleby heroically lives through the torture and struggle of the naive 16-year-old Brian's melodramatic tale. And Andrew Pulver (as the boy he kills) truly stands out as the boy soprano; the drama is heightened by Pulver's youth -- he is so close in age to the character he portrays. Sandra Piques Eddy is mesmerizing and striking as the spy Fiona, and Judith Forst adds comic relief to this dark world as Anne's mum. They all play their part in this web, and it's perfectly weaved with the direction of Bartlett Sher.
The animation and projection design team of 59 Productions elevates this show by connecting a modern audience to the majestic art form. You feel as though you're sitting in the seats of a cinema as chats pop up along with the sounds of the operatic stars. It's no different than watching an opera in a language you don't understand: instead of reading subtitles, you read chat messages. I think it's quite genius and fitting, as our world continues to travel with accelerated growth in technology.
"Two Boys" will definitely be revisited as a contemporary classic in the future, and it's opened my mind to the world of opera. Written words can only do so much justice when speaking of this masterpiece, though, so if you don't get an opportunity to see the opera live while it's still playing, do yourself a favor and check out this youtube NPR video of "An Evening with Nico Muhly", as he introduces some of the compositions and artist involved in this jarring production.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8bFkSkhDvo[/youtube]
For more information on "Two Boys", check out our full event listing here: https://stagebuddy.com/listingdetail.php?lid=15391
