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Opera Review: GIRONDINES by Mission Opera
November 24, 2023
By Bessy ADUT
At the end of October, Mission Opera presented the West Coast premiere of Girondines, an opera in English with music by Sarah Van Sciver and lyrics by Kirsten C. Kunkle. This two-act show sheds light on the lives and deaths of six beautiful, successful, and talented French Revolution women. Based on their true stories, Girondines honors the legacies of; murderess Charlotte Corday, painter Élisabeth Vigée LeBrun, writer Manon Roland, playwright Olympe de Gouges, philosopher Germaine de Staël, and chemist Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier. Their activism paves the way for later writers, artists, and scientists. They support each other during difficult times, sharing their ideals and dreams with purpose and never giving up.
It was a pleasure to watch and listen to this opera live. In fact, after the show, the first thing I asked was when and where I could see it again. The libretto by Kirsten C. Kunkle was beautifully written, and it was great to have supertitle captions not only in English, but also in Spanish and French. Kirsten also sang the role of Charlotte beautifully alongside stellar fellow castmates (Laurice Simmons Kennel as Élisabeth, Claire Pegram as Manon, Ashley Becker as Olympe, Kaitlyn Tierney as Germaine, and Marisa Robinson as Pierrette.) I would like to give my special thanks to Sarah for inviting me (she composed the opera’s music and sound, was the production manager and technical director, and she created over three hundred beautiful video collages which were used to add dimension to the sets as interactive backdrops for every scene.) Sarah also played piano and conducted the orchestra, which featured an exquisite harp by Leila Bishop, a magnificent cello from Beryl Acosta, and an expressive violin from Oleg Manukyan.
This period piece was tragically timeless, and all six characters were relatable. Despite the prevailing stereotype that opera is ‘high art’ and therefore inaccessible, Girondines was very accessible and enjoyable to watch, while maintaining high production values and telling a gripping story. The main characters were radical, intellectual, and feminist revolutionaries. They have a secret association, write important works, and make important events happen, always under the surface. They are called Girondines because they share alignment with the ideals of the Girondin French Revolutionary political party faction. This opera immerses the audience in the Girondines’ friendships, struggles, and -in the case of three of the women- guillotine executions.
The first act opens with a trio prologue sung by characters Élisabeth, Germaine, and Pierrette. Accompanied by beautiful images in the background, they sing “We’re the ones who lived. We’re the ones who tell the stories of those who lost their heads, who lost their lives.” After a brief duet between Manon and Olympe, the third scene brings together the complete sextet. It’s 1792, and the group is having a secret salon meeting and talking strategy for contending with the early events of the French Revolution. From there, we are whisked through all six women’s tumultuous lives sung with expressive music, all with lovely film backdrops establishing their settings. One particularly impressive scene featured women singing with fires behind them, with cinematic backgrounds very well edited. Act one concludes with Charlotte’s beheading. She closes her eyes and apologizes to her family, all the while calm and completely at peace with having murdered Marat. A scream erupts from the dark at the conclusion of this poignant scene.
Act two opens with a beautiful dance performance and instrumental music. Élisabeth’s aria about the death of her friend Marie-Antoinette features a gorgeous thunderbolt effect in film projections, and a supernumerary actress as Marie-Antoinette makes an appearance in a white dress looking like an angel before she, too, is tragically killed. A subsequent trio in act two has Germaine in exile and her two about-to-be-guillotined friends (Manon and Olympe) singing from their prison cells; candlelights and fog are mesmerizing in images complementing the performers in the foreground. Tremendous videos of thunderstorms add to the drama when feminist writers Olympe and Manon are guillotined. When the final execution unfolds, the audience teared up at this point with melancholia. Later on, in act two, during Pierrette’s nostalgic solo “Home,” the staging of actors buying and selling flowers, modeling and painting, strolling, and gathering bouquets looked like a scene from a garden in Heaven. The second-to-last piece of the opera begins with pretty kaleidoscope images which reveal a dance soloist weaving among paintings and Pierrette and Élisabeth singing a duet about science and art being “two halves of the whole… a whole picture from parts… Together they are essential and divine.” The epilogue finale of the opera reunites all six women once more to sing about life, death and legacy. Each character had a Leitmotif that played in their solo arias and was present in small moments of their ensembles. The motives are truly recognizable, and the final ensemble weaves all melodies and characters together.
This goes for all women “She challenged many and that’s why she is there now. The pen must write and she must be heard even after she passes away. As it says: Words linger. Words last. Words mean something.”
The Girondines’ women’s narratives outlasted their times. Bodies may perish, but true friendships and meaningful ideas persist forever, and art always breathes new life into old stories. The music, words, design, and message of this production were striking.
Want to explore or experience Girondines? Mission Opera’s production concluded its live performances in October *but* they will release a video streaming version in the next few months at MissionOpera.com. And you can learn more about the opera itself at www.linktr.ee/Girondines or peruse the program from the Mission Opera production here.
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