The 37th Singapore International Festival of Arts opened with Facing Goya on 12th August 2014, at the newly restored Victoria theater, a rather symbolic choice of venue as the festival had began right there in 1977. The theme of SIFA this year is ‘legacies of the 20th century’, and Facing Goya fits right in, its story about the search of the missing skull belonging to one of the greatest Spanish painters, Francisco Goya, who is also known as the father of modern art. It questions the ethics of science, the heart in art and moralistic dilemmas mankind has faced over the last century.
Composed by celebrated composer Michael Nyman of Gattaca and Man on Wire fame, libretto written by award winning playwright Victoria Hardie, directed by Ong Keng Sen (none other but the festival director himself) and conducted by the acclaimed John Kennedy in collaboration with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Facing Goya ran a course of three performances over 12th to 16th August 2014.
A brand new version of a highly imaginative and creative opera, it was two hours long of atmospheric rhythms of the pop-jazz genre, and was a dark mix of science-fiction, art history, biotechnology and ethics. There were four acts in total; one of the art banker, next of the craniometrists, then the art historians, the biotechnologists and lastly of a cloned Goya.
I thought that Facing Goya was well-written, albeit a little too much like a textbook overflowing with content I couldn’t quite catch (so lucky for the subtitles), and I would have to admit that I was mesmerized by the stunning visuals. But that said, it felt strange to me that Facing Goya’s central conflict was about the problem with the overemphasis on the importance of the head, so much so that heart was overlooked, but the hard hitting lyrics didn’t seem to help me feel much in the performance. Unless that was truly the playwright’s intention, the script and music combined felt like a misfire. Anyhow, for somebody watching Facing Goya after a long day of work, it was just mentally exhausting.
Nyman’s tunes were not a letdown but I thought that the orchestra pit could have been situated in a more visible position. Afterall, the music made up most of the soul of Facing Goya, because some lines were funny, some weren’t, and overall it felt like the music and lines did not really gel together which made me end up tuning in mostly onto the music.
The stellar cast (Suzanna Guzman as Art Banker, Anne-Carolyn Bird as Soprano 1, Aundi Marie Moore as Soprano 2, Thomas Michael Allen as Tenor and Museop Kim as Baritone) gave an outstanding performance at the opening show, and they had massive accolade to boot. Not a pitch missed, hitting all the right notes (I think), it wasn’t the technicality of singing that made Facing Goya hard to digest, and might have just been the overwhelming load of content. Separate, the music and libretto were probably excellent. Maybe the gelling needed work, or it was meant to be this way, without heart and harsh. Or maybe this is new age opera which I need getting used to? I am not too sure. Perhaps it is supposed to be high-brow and therefore inaccessible to people who don’t read music/literature. Either way, I was pretty confused, because unlike your usual opera, there was hardly any pattern I could recognize to follow through in rhythm or story plot. Another reason I can think offhand that might rationalize why Facing Goya didn’t work for me could be because it was too scientific, too factual, with abrupt changes in mood which I couldn’t catch on fast enough.
What was commendable though, was the set design, post-modernistic; costumes, suited to role of characters and thoughtful lighting. What could be improved on could be some scenes or actual visuals with Goya’s art. Not an art buff, I didn’t realize who he was till I Googled his name, and why would I be interested in Facing Goya if there was no such art of his displayed for me to understand why the frenzied search for his skull?
Other spectators’ take on the piece — Akshita Nanda from SPH comments that viewing Facing Goya a second time helped her appreciation of the futuristic opera better. Mayo Martin from Mediacorp writes his initial thought: the whole art/science/lecture-meets-opera was a bad fit, and the lack of narrative meant that nothing grabbed you. I interpreted that as the reason to why I ended up listening intently solely to the music, to sustain my interest for the rest of the opera, for me to actually sit till the end.
Maybe I need classes in art appreciation; I don’t think I comprehended Facing Goya in all its heart and soul (if it had one) the first time watching it. Now, if only they had a second run…
Credits: Images by Chong Yew