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Crescent Moon Over Cleveland
| Article
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17366 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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1 / 1990 |
2,032 Words |
| Author
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Philip Kennicott
Philip Kennicott, based in New York, is a writer on
performance arts. |
Cleveland is striving heavily for an urban renaissance. Hotels are being built and a convention center is vying for the sphere change of the usual business transients. Like many cities, Cleveland is engaged in a madcap race to create a service economy, regardless of the consequences. Even its established artistic institutions have joined the civic boost: Last October a high-profile publicity blitz attracted the national press for what was billed as "Premiere Week." A fortunate coincidence saw the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, and Cleveland Playhouse all introducing major new works in the course of a single week. Artistically this little city finally had its day.
Of the various goings on, the world premiere of Stewart Copeland's first opera, Holly Blood and Crescent Moon, attracted the most attention. The Cleveland Opera shares with most regional opera companies a conservative artistic policy, and it was therefore surprising when it was announced that it would present the world premiere of a swashbuckling opera by a composer better known as the drummer for the rock group The Police. The oddity of the event was underscored with an early claim by the Cleveland press office that Copeland's involvement with opera paralleled that of George Gershwin's composition of Porgy and Bess more than fifty years ago: Both were hailed as figures from the world of popular of art forms. This is, of course, true; but while Gershwin and Copeland both set out to write serious opera, the only real similarity between the scores they produced is excessive length. Nevertheless, the Gershwin comparison whetted appetites, and critics turned out in droves to see if the ballyhoo was justified.
Copeland was approached to write his first opera after the
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