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by Abigail Richardson, directed by Lynda Hill

Tapestry New Opera Works, Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs, Toronto

June 6-14, 2008

Though only 45 minutes long, Sanctuary Song, an “opera for all ages,” is as likely to bore well-meaning parents as well as the children they’ve taken with them for a dose of “art.”  The flaw is certainly not Abigail Richardson’s ever-fascinating music or Lynda Hill’s imaginative production.  Instead it lies with Marjorie Chan’s libretto that strives for universality through generalities and platitudes.

We meet Sydney (soprano Xin Wang), an Asian elephant, and her keeper James (baritone Alvin Crawford) at a zoo in Louisiana.  Alvin says he is too old to care for Sydney any more so she will be shipped to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.  The first of many unanswered questions is why the zoo doesn’t simply assign Sydney a new keeper.  Despite the cliché mentioned later in the work about elephant’s memories, Alvin has to prod Sydney to recall her past, and this is what plays out before us.  Here we encounter Sydney’s pachyderm gal-pal Penny (dancer Sharmila Dey) and the evil Hunter (actor Frank Cox-O’Connell), who repeats “Kill the old, save the young” without once mentioning that the reason involves the ivory trade.  Sydney’s lowest point when she has to dance in a circus is insufficiently explored.  After her rescue from a sinking circus boat (not shown), Alvin arrives to care for the now-injured Sydney and we move to a climax that requires an extraordinary coincidence to force a happy ending.

Chan has divided the characters into “good” and “bad” and their range of moods into only “happy” and “sad.”  She does not provide enough specificity to Sydney’s character or adventures to involve us.  The real trauma of separating a female elephant from her herd is not that she may miss her friend but that she is no longer part of the extensive matriarchal society that provides mutual protection.  Maybe Chan thinks children can’t handle this point, but it is more essential than the generic frolicking she portrays.  Chan is enamoured of the phrase “in the eye of an elephant” though it does acquires depth through repetition.  Reference to the eyes of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh could have provided useful symbolism.

All four performers are excellent, Dey’s dancing being especially delightful.  Though the set is a plain ramp, the audience has much to watch since the three-person orchestra, including exotic percussion, is visible and Luisa Quintavalle projects beautiful images on the ramp and onto a moon-like disc above it.  The children noticeably perked up when a less abstract images appeared, like a monkey or baby elephant, but that meant, of course, they were no longer looking at the performers.  The works of Tolkien and Rowling should have taught writers that detail not generality is what draws children into a fictional world.  Powerful words like “freedom” and “home” mean nothing when the characters have not engaged us. 

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2008-06-10.

Photo: Alvin Crawford and Xin Wang. ©John Lauener.