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Appomattox, An opera composed by Philip Glass with Libretto by Christopher Hampton. Presented by the Washington National Opera, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Monday November 16, 2015 By Rabbi Arnold Saltzman You might ask why I am interested in opera? Is that what a rabbi should be talking about? As a child singer in NYC, I attended an Orthodox Yeshiva during the day, where we studied Jewish BIble, Prophets, Talmud, and Hebrew language for three hours six days a week. In the evening, I sang at the Metropolitan Opera in the Children’s Chorus, working with the great conductors, singers, designers, directors. I sang in Tosca, Boris Godunov, Turandot, La Gioconda, Wozzeck, and other operas. Some of you may have seen me in the old Met. During the day I was in Yeshiva, and in the evening, the Metropolitan Opera. I mentioned to my son, Michael, that I was reading the biography of Philip Glass and he commented: What’s that like, dad? The same thing on every page? Michael is very witty! In writing about this opera by Philip Glass, I did several things in order to prepare. I admit that overall, until recently I was not a fan of Philip Glass’ music. His work is frequently referred to as ‘Minimalist’ although in his biography he denies that it fits any category. Minimalism is a type of music which is extremely repetitive, so much so that when there is an harmonic change, one expresses relief that finally the endless chord is over and the real music is beginning. This music as well as Glass’ music is influenced by rhythmic patterns of India, and Asian concepts of music which are strange to most Westerners. Glass in his early years collaborated with Ravi Shankar in Paris, and prior to that he studied in Juilliard in NYC where he collaborated with Peter Schickele, better known as P.D.Q. Bach. Glass hails from Baltimore where his father owned a record store,(remember those?) and he had access to listening to all the classical music as well as everything else which was offered. Overall he seems to be a secular Jewish man without apology. While in Paris Glass he studied with the Nadia Boulanger, the teacher of composers: Menotti, Copland, and now Glass. Her students are the ‘whose who’ of music for most of the 20th century. Glass has made a reputation on exploring contemporary themes such ‘Einstein on the Beach’. His film work has earned him three academy award nominations including, ‘The Hours’, and I personally recommend his movie score for ‘The Illusionist’ which was a turning point for me in finding his music moving and enjoyable. Some of you may know the movie ‘The Truman Show’, again with a score by Glass. Appomattox, a compelling and majestic new American opera with music by Philip Glass and libretto by Christopher Hampton, recently given its world premiere by the Washington National Opera at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Appomattox, a compelling music drama which sings America in a discord. This ‘break out’ work for the 78 year old composer of 27 operas, and the best known minimalist composer of our time, is filled with beautiful arias, ensembles and chorus. Combining both the end of the Civil War with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, and the last days of the the Lincoln presidency, the opera moves in its second act to the events surrounding the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one hundred years later. The Civil War saw the participation of about 10,000 Jewish soldiers. Fully American, Jews fought for their country, and made an invaluable contribution to ending the war. As an aside, I was reminded by the presence of General Grant, that during the Civil War he issued the infamous General Order No.11 expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. Protests caused Lincoln to overturn this order, and many years later a repentant President Grant attended the dedication of Adas Israel in Washington, DC making a donation to demonstrate his contrition and sincerity. Part of the opera’s narrative focuses on the deaths of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney, the three civil rights workers who were murdered while working in Mississippi by KKK members. These murders and others are a significant part of history as well as the opera’s libretto, reminding us of the shared dreams of Jews and African Americans during that time. As an aside this is directly tied to our guest speaker next month, Dr. Elisabeth Rappaport who as a high school student participated in the ‘March on Selma’. In this opera, composer Glass returns to musical sources of the Civil War period, ‘We’re Tenting Tonight’, and allows this music to proceed in its natural form, yet accompanied by Glass’s unique palette of harmonies and progressions. This is both stunning musically and moving to listen to, as weary and diverse soldiers of the Civil War open the opera singing in chorus in place of an overture in one of many memorable moments. Glass is associated with endless repetition, yet here there was never a sense of that endless arpeggio. The composer demonstrated a new comfort level in writing opera, and clearly he can write lyrically, being able to set any text. The plot or absence of a plot is used to good effect. Instead the narrative is based on the idea of character importance and proximity to the important character: Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Dr. King, LBJ, Mary Lincoln, Coretta Scott King... History on the stage can be static, and there a number of ‘telling the story’ moments which are not effective and unnecessary. Yet, the drama of this powerful history is nothing less than a whirlwind we are swept into, the most powerful moments in American history, reborn in the setting of Washington, DC. The overarching effect of this opera is brilliant, in that we have this history fleshed out and given an inner light, the light of a Rembrandt, but with music providing that light, making each character come to life, confronting us with this defining and troubling history of America. For Americans, I cannot think of a more important subject which is well suited to opera. At the same time this is painful as historic memory. We are ennobled with this legacy which enlightens us while reminding us that we are still struggling to come to terms with these very themes in our time. In these past days, tremendous racial tension exists in Baltimore as the trial of a Police officer ended in a ‘hung jury.’ In the street there was a cry of ‘no justice’. Yet, the family of Freddy Grey said the jury did the best the could, and they had confidence that eventually there would be justice. The Mayor was prepared with police in riot gear, yet the demonstrators and disappointment never turned on the neighborhood and innocent civilians as it had earlier this year. I had to wonder about the insight into these historic themes by Philip Glass, an American composer and a British librettist, Christopher Hampton. This was balanced by the direction of Tazewell Thomson who set just the right emphasis in staging by allowing the power of both the visual and musical to speak without ever being covered. Director Thompson gave the work authenticity by bringing his passion for the subject, as he is a 10th generation descendant of slaves, who is now an internationally recognized director of opera. In the United States there have been a number of deaths, incidents of brutality, demonstrations, riots, and a general raising of the tension with regard to racism and inequality. Statistics indicate that African American men are going to prison for crimes more often, far more often than Caucasian males who commit the same crimes. There is a sense of inadequate legal representation by cities that do not take their responsibility to provide adequate legal assistance to those who cannot afford the best legal assistance. The public perceives that politics continue to play a role in this imbalance. An opera whose subject is telling us that the Civil War and Civil Rights are part of a continuing line of historic wrongs, draws our attention in the arts to what we already know. As rabbi, I have made this year one in which I will continue to focus on this theme. How will we change? Can it ever be changed? Can we reach the next generation of young men and women in order to make sure that they have the hope and opportunity to change the terrible cycle in which too many find themselves trapped: Poverty, Segregation, Profiling, Historic Wrongs. One final note, the program had a pictorial history of the Civil Rights Movement, including Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Montgomery marching with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. That is an image we should remember so that we can be guided by those who sought justice marching across a bridge linked together arm in arm. Shabbat Shalom!