Berkeley: Jane Eyre.(Opera Review)

* Marsh, Wyn, B. Mills, Bauer-Jones; Slater; The Music Theatre Wales Ensemble, Rafferty. Texts and translations. Chandos CHN 9983

It has been filmed no fewer than fifteen times and was recently a Broadway musical. How could an opera of Jane Eyre be far behind? The appeal of Charlotte Bronte's novel is due largely to the dark currents that underscore the story, from Jane's Dickensian school days to the Ultimate (and archetypal) gothic horror of discovering that the man she loves has a mad wife locked in the attic. Commissioned by the Cheltenham International Festival, this Jane Eyre was given its premiere in 2000 by Music Theatre Wales. Composer Michael Berkeley and librettist David Malouf have taken the Gurrelieder approach--the story is so familiar, it is not necessary to retell all of it. In fact, they dispense with most of it, focusing principally on Jane's discovery of Rochester's dark secret. They open up that moment, tracing out and parsing every) psychological event that prepares it. Jettisoning all but the characters who inhabit Thornfield, they present the tale as a macabre love triangle, reimagining Mrs. Rochester as an active, oddly sympathetic player, rather than simply a vague, malevolent presence. The result is "essence of Jane Eyre," an espresso, rather than a venti regular.

The short, two-act opera is cast as a flashback, which allows the writers the questionable shorthand of hitting the high points of Jane and Rochester's relationship without developing them. Malouf's telescoping is ...