INTERVIEW: Deaf West Theatre, LA Phil to present Beethoven’s only opera
Photo: DJ Kurs is the artistic director of Deaf West Theatre. Photo courtesy of Tate Tullier / Provided by press rep with permission.
The music of Beethoven is a frequent presence in the classical music world, but more for his symphonies and sonatas than opera. The maestro actually did pen an opera called Fidelio, and Deaf West Theatre and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, have teamed up to present the work April 14-16 at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
The collaborative show is directed by Alberto (Beto) Arvelo and co-directed by Joaquín Solano, and the cast features Deaf actors, Deaf performers of Venezuela’s Coro de Manos Blancos and hearing singers from the Los Angeles Master Chorale, according to press notes. American Sign Language will join with Beethoven’s music for a performance to be enjoyed by both Deaf and hearing audiences.
Dudamel is credited as developing the idea for these performances. Through his foundation, he wanted to elevate Deaf artistry and tie it to the themes of Beethoven’s Fidelio, namely overcoming obstacles to discover one’s personal freedom, according to press notes.
Deaf West Theatre is the Tony-winning theater company that recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. They create theatrical experiences inspired by Deaf culture and the “expressive power of sign language.” Some of their highlights through the years have included Spring Awakening, which transferred to Broadway; Big River, which also transferred to Broadway; and Our Town with the Pasadena Playhouse. DJ Kurs serves as artistic director.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Kurs and Arvelo about Fidelio and what audiences can expect from the semi-staged production. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audience members expect from this production of Fidelio?
KURS: This staging of Fidelio at the Walt Disney Concert Hall will be presented in American Sign Language, Beethoven’s sung German lyrics and supertitles. The sign language will connect with the lyrics to create a visually dazzling experience [that adds] a new layer of expressivity to the whole experience. Both Deaf and hearing cast members will be performing the entire opera, and the Deaf members of the Coro Manos Blancos from Venezuela will be performing the choir songs along with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. It will be a visual and aural feast, and I’m thrilled that a concert at Disney Hall is being made accessible to the Deaf community for the very first time.
How does the collaboration work between Deaf West Theatre and the Los Angeles Philharmonic?
ARVELO: The collaboration has been extraordinary. A collective feeling has been generated that we are all doing something important both for us and for the audience. It has been a huge collective effort, an effort in which we have all been touched by a very particular energy. I think we are perceiving Beethoven’s music, composed while he was Deaf, in a totally different way. Beethoven would not have been able to compose such deep and complex music if he had not been Deaf when he composed it.
KURS: This is a production that is presented in both languages and cultures, so it requires a partnership between equals. Our Deaf actors and singers came into the rehearsal room as groups from two separate cultures and languages. Ultimately, they grew together into a single unit under the leadership of our director Alberto Arvelo and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel. We are grateful to have had a dream team in terms of a partnership for our first foray into the art form of opera.
Do you feel that the world of classical music and opera need to become more accessible to Deaf audience members and performers?
ARVELO: This is undoubtedly the great conclusion of this experience. I’m convinced that Fidelio will leave the very clear message that the deaf audience must be considered and included, particularly in the world of opera. Fidelio is a powerful message of awareness.
KURS: Yes! If I may be so bold, I think all opera should be signed and sung from this point forward. I feel that our performers bring a certain expressivity into the staging. We wear our hearts on our sleeves when we communicate in ASL, and I feel that our language is uniquely suited for an opera written by a Deaf person! And accessibility and representation are such important elements that need to be brought into dialogue into our respective industries.
You mentioned in a press release that “music transcends sound.” Could you expand upon that concept?
ARVELO: Being here for weeks, collaborating with this wonderful group of Deaf artists, has moved me to understand music as vibrations, which of course is a form of energy. In this sense, music transcends sound itself; it is pure energy. Our actors have given me precise descriptions of the textures of the voices of each of the singers, based on the subtleties implicit in those vibrations and perceptions. Some voices have the texture of silk, for example, some others of canvas or velvet. All of this experience has been an eye opener for all of us, in all directions.
KURS: Beethoven was Deaf when he wrote this piece. He composed the melodies from memory and edited the music without hearing it. He sawed the legs off his piano so he could feel the vibrations of the the instrument as it rippled through the wooden floor. And that is how Deaf people take in music, away from the ears. We are bringing music to the community not only by translating the lyrics into ASL but with the presentation of our language. It is a language that lives in time and space, and we flex the language’s musical qualities by expressing it not only through our hands but through our faces, bodies and most importantly, eyes.
Are you proud of the accomplishments that Deaf West Theatre has achieved throughout its history?
KURS: We’ve been performing for 30 years in Los Angeles and beyond, but I sense that this is just the beginning. Troy Kotsur, who just won the supporting actor Oscar for CODA, performed with our company for nearly 30 years. While I am filled with pride for the inroads that we’ve made as a theater company and as a community, there’s just so much left to do.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Beethoven’s Fidelio will play April 14-16 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Click here for more information and tickets.
