Review: The Wooster Group's 'La Didone' at REDCAT

 

From its inception, the operatic stage has welcomed the blending of such diverse art forms as music, drama, dance and visual design. But it’s safe to say that Francesco Cavalli, the 17th century Italian composer who led the development of opera as a public entertainment, never imagined that his gorgeous Baroque arias would one day be sung by a cast in space suits from a cheesy sci-fi thriller.

The Wooster Group, bless its co-founder and director Elizabeth LeCompte’s postmodern heart, is at it again. In “La Didone,” now at REDCAT, the company meshes Cavalli and Giovanni Francesco Busenello’s 1641 opera of the same title with — buckle up, everyone — “Terrore nello spazio,” the futuristic 1965 Italian horror movie better known here as “Planet of the Vampires.”

The resulting multimedia dream is one that I’m still trying to process (the Wooster Group’s technologically sculptured productions have a force field that protects them from glib interpretation). But I can tell you that when it was all over, I felt reluctant to return to the workaday world of normal ordered perception.

Which isn’t to say that this theatrical journey is a complete and utter bliss ride. Narrative dizziness leads to a few lulls that can’t be covered up by sensory overload, and then there’s the built-in frustration of having your attention splintered in multiple riddling directions. Brains beware: The production is like an exhausting cerebral spin class.

But what can you expect when you have three tales going on virtually simultaneously? First, there’s the rarely performed opera retelling (and boldly revising) the myth of Dido, Queen of Carthage (beautifully sung by Hai-Ting Chinn). She, of course, falls head over heels for Aeneas (the mellifluous John Young), a heroic refugee from defeated Troy looking to fulfill his destiny of being the progenitor of Rome.

Then there’s the film about human space travelers (reenacted by such Wooster Group virtuosos as Kate Valk, Ari Fliakos and Scott Shepherd, with help from their game opera cohorts). These intergalactic voyagers have been forced to land on a planet in which alien creatures are trying to take possession of their bodies and high-tail it to Earth before their planet’s sun goes black.
 
And finally, there’s the inimitable synthesis of these dual story lines — presented with the company’s customary flat-screen video monitors, rolling office furniture and computer symphony of blips and bleeps.

Accidental parallels between “La Didone” and “Planet of the Vampires” are wryly italicized, but what unites them is the spirit of dangerous adventure. Both Aeneas, who has stumbled upon a strange land with unfamiliar customs, and Dido, who has dropped through a romantic rabbit hole, are facing an uncertainty every bit as life-threatening as the one confronting the passengers of the two spaceships that have touched town on a lonely spot in the universe, which might be friendly but more likely spells the demise of the crews.

The sensationally frenzied production — featuring Jennifer Tipton’s lighting, Matt Schloss and Omar Zubair’s sound design and video by Zbigniew Bzymek and Joby Emmons with Andrew Schneider — places spectators in a similarly confounding situation in which new modes of communication and methods of understanding must be learned on the fly. With so much to marvel at, we have no choice but to become explorers ourselves, which may prove vexing to those who think of theater as something to be intellectually consumed in a single swallow.

This is a piece that even if you already have a deep intimacy with the obscure opera and largely forgotten movie you’re still going to have to contend with the madness of supertitles from both works scrolling at the same time and the low volume of actors’ voices drawing you in as the high-tech din deflects your focus elsewhere. Repeated viewing will allow you to more fully appreciate the sexy fit of Antonia Belt’s astral costumes and the ingenious musical direction of Bruce Odland, which lends the Cavalli score an electric guitar kick. But the hyperactive aesthetic subverts any presumption of an assured foothold.

As you switch your focus near the end between Chinn’s ravishing handling of Dido’s seemingly suicidal aria and the movie’s apparent apocalyptic finale, you can’t help becoming giddily conscious of how your mind takes in and hierarchically arranges artistic data. “La Didone” insists that you break calcified habits.

Ensemble regulars may not reach the vertiginous theatrical heights of “House/Lights” or “The Hairy Ape," but what’s distinctive about this latest Wooster Group collage is the interweaving of opera, with its irresistible vocal purity, and the unconscious lure of B-movie suspense. I found the oddball match-up twistedly exhilarating in the way it both levels and preserves high and low distinctions — and I heartily recommend it to all fearless theatergoers as part of their annual neural-pathway tuneup.


--Charles McNulty

"La Didone," REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles. 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. (Call for exceptions.) Ends: June 21. $40-$55. (213) 237-2800. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Photo (Top): Hai-Ting Chinn.  Photo (Bottom): Scott Shepherd, Kate Valk and Ari Fliakos. Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[daniel m]

Wow -- This sounds Amazing -- but is it really an Opera? Or what?

[Burt Worcester]

It's brand-name edginess as only tired New York scenesters well past their sell-by date can do it. And it takes one of their own to appreciate it.

[daniel m]

You haven't experienced it yet have you? Bruce?

[Dana]

I saw it last week and was really knocked out by the virtuosity of the singing and musicianship. At first, it seems like an SNL sketch, but the performances deepen and the amazing vocals, especially by Dido, take it somewhere else completely. This review captures the sense of discovery and disorientation and childlike play. We're all left on our own to explore and find meaning and humor too. The still-vital combination of super high/low is not what you'd expect if you just presume New York "brand-name edginess." I highly recommend taking a chance, especially if you enjoy opera and cool retro-space age iconography.

[Galen Johnson]

Aw, what a pity, I'll be out town hitting my head with a Buick.

[Elizabeth]

Bruce, I have to disagree. I saw it opening night and was blown away at how fresh a theatrical experience La Didone is. Engaging, hilarious and eerily truthful in spite of the formulaic nature of the two arts they are colliding. Yes, The Wooster Group has been creating work for decades but it's clear from La Didone that they must continue to do so for today's audiences to experience.

I loved what Charles said "I found the oddball match-up twistedly exhilarating in the way it both levels and preserves high and low distinctions — and I heartily recommend it to all fearless theatergoers as part of their annual neural-pathway tuneup."

La Didone is not to be missed and cheers to The Wooster Group continuing to bring their work to REDCAT and Los Angeles!

[Burt Worcester]

Being familiar with the WG's work, I think Galen has the right idea although I'd suggest a Range Rover instead of a Buick. The sharper corners will do a better job of numbing the neural pathways. Theirs is a simple philosophy - catapult a lot of gimmicks at the audience, take credit for whatever sticks, and blame them for not 'getting' the rest. People readily confuse volume for fidelity (ask stereo manufacturers). Of course there is nothing specific to 'get' but that's part of the con.

I think it is a shame that your city's top creative minds have such minimal access to your city's top performance spaces.

By the way, who is Bruce?

[Lisa]

I have to agree with the less cynical (and largely female) of this group of commenter-critics. I saw La Didone last night and found it totally compelling. And the operatic performances were exquisite! I would happily see it several more times. The idea that they are trying to pull the wool over your eyes and ears with gimmicks and cacophony -- or that you have to be an aging scenester from New York to appreciate such art -- is a sad testament to the narrowness of some people's tastes. Whatever. You can have your Neil Simon or Lion King...or better yet, skip live theater altogether and go to the movies. I am thrilled that we in LA have the opportunity to see the Wooster Group's newest works and will keep coming back for more.

[Randall]

It's an absolutely amazing show. It's quite beautiful. One of the best theatrical experiences I've had in years, and one of the best Wooster Group pieces in a long time.

[daniel m]

Wow -- I finally got to see this for myself. Loved it! What a brilliant, wild, event! I'm going to try and go back on Sunday.