THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 21, 1995 TAG: 9501210220
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
The cultural elite, wearing furs, tuxes and their finest baubles, commingled Friday night at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk for the world premiere of a new opera.
Most of the 1,600 patrons for the Virginia Opera production of Thea Musgrave's ``Simon Bolivar'' - based on the life of the great 19th-century Venezuelan revolutionary - saw the sold-out performance as the sort of high-profile arts event you'd experience in a major metropolitan city like New York.
For one audience member, however, it was like a family reunion.
``Bolivar's mother was my great-great-great-great aunt,'' said Gonzalo Palacios, minister counselor for cultural affairs for the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington.
``My brother and I are the closest to Bolivar'' of any living relatives, said Palacios, who is 56.
Palacios, who grew up in Venezuela and America, learned of Musgrave's opera through the embassy. ``I won't be looking at it from an historical point of view. More from an artistic point of view.
``As soon as I get back, I'll be reviewing.'' His critique will be published in newspapers in Venezuela, Colombia and other Latin American countries, he said.
Palacios was among 400 opera officials, dignitaries and out-of-town guests at a pre-opera buffet reception at The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk.
``My enthusiasm for this event is extraordinary,'' said Pedro Luis Echeverria, the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington. ``I was invited to be in Palm Beach by invitation of a very wealthy man. I prefer to be here.''
Echeverria aided the production by providing information and pictures regarding Bolivar. ``So I feel I am part of this opera,'' he said, beaming with pride.
Andrew Porter, a major music critic, flew Friday from London to attend. He said he has attended premieres of Musgrave's works since the 1950s and considers her among the most important contemporary composers of serious music.
``She has a very individual voice,'' said Porter, who sat alone in his aisle seat reading the program.
Previously, Porter's reviews of Musgrave's music have appeared in New Yorker magazine. Now he writes for The Observer, a London weekly newspaper. His review of ``Bolivar'' is scheduled to run in the Jan. 28 edition, he said.
He had no idea what he was about to hear. ``I have read the libretto. But the music's going to come to me perfectly new.''
It was Porter's first visit since 1984, when Musgrave's opera on Harriet Tubman premiered in Norfolk. He found the renovated opera house ``much more attractive and elegant to look at.''
``I've always thought the theater was an ideal size and shape, and that has not changed.''
Julieta Valls, director for cultural programs for Partners of the Americas, served on the advisory board for ``Bolivar.'' ``I am trying to get funding to take the opera to South America. I think the effort is worth supporting.
``It's not very often when we see a Latin American hero being featured, and Bolivar is not that well-known in the United States. So, it's educational.''
As the hour approached to head to the Harrison Opera House, talk shifted to the main event.
``I'm wondering how Thea is feeling at this point,'' said Elizabeth Burgess of Norfolk. ``Of course, she's done it before - with `Mary, Queen of Scots' and others. But, still.''
With less than an hour before curtain, backstage was bustling. Performers were getting costumed and made up, in between exchanging traditional opening-night token gifts, usually cards and candy.
``Isn't that funny. We got the same one!'' said Peter Mark, Virginia Opera's artistic and general director. He and tenor Stephen Guggenheim, who portrays Bolivar, had given each other the same card, with an old map of the Americas on the front.
``I know! I got mine in San Francisco,'' said Guggenheim.
``I got mine in New York,'' said Mark, conductor for ``Bolivar.''
Pacing near his dressing room in knee-high boots and a T-shirt, Guggenheim looked pumped. ``I feel great! I really want to do it. I've been rehearsing so much. I've been waiting a year and a half.
``For Thea, it must be like having a baby,'' he said, eyes widening.
Nearer the stage, principal timpanist John Lindberg looked wistful as he prepared to enter the musician's pit. ``I just had something so wonderful happen. Peter and Thea gave me a note saying that I was the only person who had been in all four of her world premieres.''
Nearby, bassist Tom Reel watched the bejeweled audience fill the hall as he warmed up. ``I sure hope they like it,'' he said, not realizing Musgrave had just popped in.
``They'd better, or they'll have a fight on their hands,'' said the composer, happily.
When asked how she was feeling on opening night after eight years of labor, she held up a plastic-wrapped cigar with gusto. ``I'm just about to smoke my cigar!'' MEMO: Review on page A10.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, Staff
In the opening scene of Thea Musgrave's ``Simon Bolivar,'' Stephen
Guggenheim, left, quells a dispute among soldiers, including Russell
Cusick.
Opera patrons trudge through blustery weather to see the world
premiere ``Simon Bolivar'' Friday at the Harrison Opera House.
Photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, Staff
During the curtain call of ``Simon Bolivar,'' Thea Musgrave and her
husband and conductor, Peter Mark, in the background, greet the
cheering audience at Harrison Opera House. Musgrave's opera
attracted attention from critics and opera fans the world over.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA OPERA PREMIERE OPENING NIGHT by CNB