Bel Canto Opera Guide

12 / 22

12
JG: Modern audiences never know quite what to expect musically from
a new opera. Over the last century or so, new operas have really run the
gamut—from very traditionally structured, tuneful works to pieces that truly
challenge the genre both musically and dramatically. Where would you say
Bel Canto fits on that spectrum? What can you say about the music in Bel
Canto that might give our audience a sense of what it’s like?
JL: Anyone and everyone is welcome to see Bel Canto, including first-time
opera goers. It is engaging, fast-paced, constantly moving forward, and
it even includes two big action numbers. The story is contemporary and
relevant; we have lots of arias, ensemble numbers, big choral passages,
great singers, and gorgeous projections. I am the kind of listener who gets
easily bored, so I’ve made every effort to keep the audience at the edge of
their seats, and I must say that Kevin Newbury’s staging is truly captivating.
The musical language I’ve used in Bel Canto covers the whole spectrum
between firmly tonal and avant-garde; it all depends on where we are in the
story. For the most part I have used tonal centers, and that is a tendency in
my general style, but I don’t always use functional tonality. In other words,
I may use the building blocks of tonality such as triads and seventh chords,
but I release them from the meaning associated with them within the tonal
system. When I do use functional tonality, I then proceed to undermine it
by modulating constantly, which results in continuously shifting melodies.
At other times (in the initial explosion and final liberation, for example) I
sever all connections with tonality and enter a more coloristic world, whose
harmonies are nevertheless strictly regulated by an intervallic system of fixed
tones that I have devised for most of my works since 2010.
There are moments when I introduce instruments that are alien to the
standard symphony orchestra, such as the pututo (a conch shell), bird
whistles, a waterphone, a cuíca, and even a whistling tube; but all of this is
done briefly, subtly, and always in the service of the story.
The main characters are not directly associated to motifs or musical themes,
but with what I call “musical auras.” For example, Joachim Messner’s vocal
writing is always melismatic and many of his appearances are colored
with metal percussion instruments such as glockenspiel, vibraphone, and
triangle. Roxane’s arias are always grand and make generous use of brass
instruments. General Alfredo’s utterings are usually martial and rhythmic
in character. In other words, one can discern the presence of a certain
character through the musical atmosphere that surrounds him or her.
This is not to say that there aren’t any recurring musical themes or motifs. In
fact there are plenty, and when they come back, they bring with them all
their emotional baggage, making for a deeper, more profound connection
between different scenes of the opera.
JG: Have you written other vocal works that are similar stylistically to what
you’ve written in Bel Canto? Is there music of yours out there people can buy
or access that’s representative of the opera, or is Bel Canto a departure?
JL: For the curious listener I would recommend
my most recent album with the Norwegian Radio
Orchestra and conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya
under the Harmonia Mundi label. It contains four
orchestral works of mine that span six years of my
creative output. You can also visit my website
and my YouTube channel,
which contains several other works of mine.
My output consists mainly of orchestral and
instrumental chamber works, so Bel Canto is
without doubt my largest and most ambitious
vocal work to date. I think the seal of my musical
language is apparent throughout the opera, but
it won’t be clearly apparent to someone who has only listened to one or
two of my works. A three-hour-long show must be as varied and eclectic as
possible to sustain the audience’s interest, so I’m sure that even someone
who is familiar with my music will be in for some surprises.
An Exchange with Jimmy López
The latest CD of music by Jimmy
López (summer, 2015) is all
orchestral works.