‘Emily’ Makes Long-Awaited Premiere, but in Trimmed Form

After three years of contemplation and 1 1/2 more of active work, Brent Pierce’s opera “Emily,” based on the 19th century poet Emily Dickinson, received its premiere at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center on Friday night.

Originally conceived as a fully staged production, the piece was scaled back when the composer found himself trying to meet minimal expenses through ticket receipts and a single contributor, a relative of librettist Shelley B. Peltier.

In place of a full stage, with scenes arranged on two levels as he had envisioned, Pierce wound up with the claustrophobic closeness of the Muckenthaler, a Victorian mansion that now serves as a museum. Because a 50- to 60-piece orchestra could not fit there, he had his score adapted to a synthesizer.

Bravely, creatively, yet not always successfully, Pierce and his director, Gary Krinke, adjusted. Staging aspects fared best. The main room’s architectural archways served to divide three sparse but evocative household scenes, with a harpsichord--an odd anachronism--situated a step below. Use of gallery chambers and hallways, a center aisle and the periphery of the 65-person seating area provided a sense of audience involvement. Patricia Scarborough’s costumes suited 19th century Amherst, Mass.

The fate of the orchestral parts came close to doing in the whole evening, however. According to Pierce, when he heard the electronic version of bowed strings, he rescored wind ensemble sounds. But, to this listener, nothing in the electronic accompaniment could substitute for the instruments intended. Most of the results were pathetic, some--like the pseudo piano that played whenever Emily sat at the harpsichord--were laughable.

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Expecting to draw upon amateurs for the supporting cast from the Fullerton College community, where he is resident composer, Pierce made “Emily” an almost one-woman opera. This emphasized Dickinson’s isolation, but it left much unexplained in the attempt to tell her life story.

We learned, for instance, that Dickinson received a marriage proposal from Judge Otis Lord--hesitantly sung by Fullerton College student Aaron Greeno--but we had no idea why Lord loved her or how she felt about him. Until that moment, in fact, we didn’t know of their acquaintance. And though much of Dickinson’s poetry speaks of joy and wonderment, she emerged ever tormented and lonely, pathologically afraid to experience life.

Accordingly, Pierce supplied Emily, sung by soprano Juliette Singler, with seemingly endless tortured music full of romantic, poignant dissonances and touches of high-pitched hysteria. Her winding melodic lines spun out melodic cells--sometimes with minimalistic single-mindedness and sometimes, when really feeling lost, with sprechstimme. Only an aria on the poem “I’m Nobody,” set with jazzy quirkiness for Singler and clarinet--played by Alison Warner--and an endearing duet between Dickinson and her sister, Vinnie, sung with appealing characterization by mezzo-soprano Dawn Brooks, lent respite.

During a full two hours onstage, Singler held her own technically (keeping tone and text production clear and controlled) but exuded more confidence and consistency than delicate frailty and inwardness. Bass Marty Baum, in a dual role as her father and as Death, brought tenderness to his brief appearances.

* “Emily” continues at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton, on Friday, Saturday and Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. Ends Feb. 1. $15. (714) 871-8101.