‘A Soldier’s Tale’ — Stravinsky’s visionary, Faustian tale
What happens when one makes a date — or a deal — with the devil?
Igor Stravinsky considers the question in his 1918 work, “The Soldier’s Tale,” which will be performed Aug. 15 and 16 at the Napa Valley Museum.
The Russian composer was living in Paris at the end of World War I when he wrote the work he describes as “a fable for actors, dancers and instrumentalists.” His own dark Faustian work, derived from a Russian folk tale about a deserting soldier and the devil, who eventually possesses his soul. The man’s violin becomes a symbol both of the soldier’s soul and the devil’s wiles.
It’s a visionary, challenging work, performed but almost never as the composer wished it to be, said Thomas Conlin, the Napa Valley-based, international conductor who is taking part in the collaborative production.
“The colorful, rhythmically complex score requires great virtuosity from all eight of us,” he said.
The project took root when Conlin’s wife, Renay, was executive director of the Napa Valley Museum. The “Date with the Devil” art exhibition, opening Friday, and the musical performance of “The Soldier’s Tale” is the last show Conlin scheduled before accepting a position last December as director of development for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which is composed of the de Young and the Legion of Honor. “It’s my last hurrah,” Renay Conlin said “but I also have other ideas.”
The Conlins moved to Napa when she accepted the position at the Napa Valley Museum and continue to make their home here. “We love it here,” she said.
“I’ve always loved the collaborative approach,” Renay Conlin said, explaining how she put together the show. Her husband, who frequently is conducting in Europe and whose recording of music by American composer George Crumb won a Grammy Award in 2001, will conduct an ensemble of seven musicians from the roster of Music in the Vineyards, the annual chamber music festival that takes place in August in the valley.
“This is a new direction for our museum,” said Kristie Sheppard, executive director of the museum, “but working together with other community arts organizations is an idea we’ll be exploring as we plan future exhibitions. It’s a great honor to have Music in the Vineyards as our partner in this production.”
The role of the narrator will be performed by veteran British-trained American actor Roy Frady, who studied at the National Norwegian Theater and at England’s National Theatre and Royal Ballet. Frady has played leading roles in “The Taming of the Shrew,” “King Lear” and “The Importance of Being Ernest,” among many others, and has been featured in many films and television shows. Others in the cast are Scott L. Beasley as The Soldier, Rick Eldredge as The Devil, and Julia Hynote, from the Napa Regional Dance Company, as The Princess.
James Marvel, named “2008 Stage Director of the Year,” by Classical Singer magazine, is director of the joint production. Since his professional directing debut in 1966, Marvel has staged more than 80 opera productions in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. He and Thomas Conlin have collaborated on six productions in the U.S., including another Stravinsky opus: “The Rake’s Progress.”
“A Soldier’s Tale,” remains a personal favorite, said Thomas Conlin. “Stravinsky wrote it during a difficult time for a group of poor, unemployed actors and musicians, who traveled and performed as a kind-of Commedia dell’Arte troupe.
“An ancient Russian folk tale is the basis of the story, but Stravinsky’s music incorporates not only Russian traditional sounds, but rhythms, harmonies and melodies more in the adventurous style of his ballets ‘The Firebird,’ ‘Petrouchka’ and ‘The Rite of Spring.’
Post-war Paris was also the center of the arts world, he said. “In ‘The Soldier’s Tale’, the composer broke for the first time with Russian music and allowed himself to be influenced by the new music then popular in Europe, including American jazz.” The result, he said, is “a modern style, boiled down to the essentials. It’s also a biting satire on the nature of war, which makes it timeless.”
“The Soldier’s Tale” will be performed on Thursday, Aug. 15 and Friday, Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the gallery at the Napa Valley Museum. Tickets are $55. For reservations call Music in the Vineyards at 707-258-5559.