The Cincinnati Opera closes the season with a new work: a full opera rendition of Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio.
MacCartney wrote the work with Carl Davis, on a commission from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in commemoration of their 150th anniversary. It follows the life of Liverpudlian, Shanty, who was born in 1942, goes to school, marries, and whose wife gives birth to a son. The oratorio enjoyed great commercial success. Writing for the New York Times, Alan Kozinn described it as "a richly melodic, lavishly orchestrated piece about the loss and reclamation of innocence, love and faith."
The idea for the Cincinnati Opera to perform the Liverpool Oratorio came from general director and CEO Christ Milligan.
"It's such an accessible piece. It deals with big themes, but it explores it in very intimate, very specific ways," he said. "It seems to say that things can be grim and disorienting, that bad things happen. And that sometimes they heal. Sometimes they don't. But we get through life by helping one another and holding one another up. That's the power of this piece."
Artistic director Evans Mirageas was meticulous in his choice of a production team to bring McCartney's work to life. Stage director Caroline Clegg, a native of Lancashire, believes McCartney perfectly captured Liverpool in his oratorio. To make the set look as authentic as possible, she gave each member of the chorus a card detailing a backstory. "This has to feel like a community of people who know each other," she said.
For set designer Leslie Tavers, the opera has become the flowering of his increasingly lengthy stays in Liverpool some years ago.
In 2018, the Cincinnati Opera staged a Pink Floyd-inspired opera that set attendance records. For Milligan, the staging of the Liverpool Oratorio follows along the same lines. "Our goal is to show the industry the virtue of this piece and to bring it to the stage. And then to invite others to do the same," he said.
The lead role, Shanty, will be sung by tenor Andrew Owens, and Mary Dee by soprano Jacqueline Echols McCarley.
The Cincinnati Opera will perform McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio on July 18, 20, 21, 25, and 27.
