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Morning Star
The multi-talented Lorin Maazel was a child violin prodigy. He is a conductor with a photographic memory and, in recent years, has turned to composing. He has chosen George Orwell’s novel 1984 upon which to compose an opera. It is a significant and historically important choice and timely premiered in the month of the 6Oth anniversary of the defeat of Hitler and the nazi empire. Orwell fought in the Spanish civil war and was undoubtedly a socialist, but he held his own political views.
1984 projected an image of the power of dictatorship, of total control and manipulation of society. The overture is instantly dramatic, robust and short, leading to the opening scene. A large group of workers at the Ministry of Truth are being instilled with a prejudice against the enemy Eurasia. Almost hypnotically, they repeat and chant the word “hate.” Some of the workers are so agitated that fists are shaken, some shoot in anger and some pray with clasped hands. Simon Keenlyside sings the role of Winston Smith, who is only known as a number.
He lives in Airstrip 0ne, a city in the province of 0cceania, once known as London in Britain. His job is to revise official records to keep the party and the leader Big Brother on the correct side of history. Smith already questions the society in his mind.
A lengthy musical soliloquy is given to the outstanding voice of tenor Lawrence Brownlee in the role of Syme. To the well-scripted libretto by J D McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, Maazel has composed his music with intimate thought to give conviction to the flow of the poetic words. Often placed in a high register almost verging on castrato, Brownlee sings with sustained and fluid case: “The beauty of Newspeak, sir! The only language whose vocabulary gets smaller every year. The more words destroyed, the narrower the thought.” Smith secretly begins to write in a diary. The scene is captured with dark and underlying ominous music. Smith has already given vent to his hatred of Big Brother and slogans as ‘War is. Peace, Freedom is Slavery and ignorance is Strength.” He falls asleep on Victory Gin and is woken up by the voice of the gym instructor on the screen sung by Diana Damrau.
Maazel’s musical attention to this role has gjven Damrau’s superb voice and acting ability the authenticity of the character. The music and words are strident and commanding. Citizens, young spies, proles and children gather at Victory Square to see the hanging of the enemy, a Eurasian prisoner of war. The music screams as a bomb goes off and kills many people. Smith is wounded and his arm is bandaged by the shop owner Charrington, who lulls him into thinking that the room upstairs is safe from the prying eyes and cars of the Thought Police. The music weaves in and out. Maazel reveals his mastery of orchestration with various effects such as shiminering tremolando in the strings and broad harmonic lines closely in support of the dialogues and actions on stage.
After being accused of a plot and sent to Room 101, Smith’s fear of rats is used to break him down and he cries out to set the rats on his lover Julia. Even his love for her cannot give him the strength to resist. They meet and confess their betrayal to each other. The music carries us quietly to this tragic and hopeless end. Orwell bas proclaimed that even love cannot resist the onslaught of the fear of death and yet millions have sacrificed their lives freely in the face of death in resistance to the greater fear of oppression. Lonin Maazel, at the age of 75, has effectively marked Orwell’s unique insight from the past for correct and future contemplation.
