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January brings a new opera commissioned by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Minnesota Opera for the companies’ youth education programs. Kansas City performs the work first with the young singers in several matinees for schools and in a public performance on January 14. The Giver is based on the Newbery Medal-winning young adult novel by Lois Lowry. Adapted and composed by Susan Kander, this is the first version of the novel presented as an opera although the story has been previously adapted for stage and screen.

The Giver—a novel that presents a dystopian society of order, conformity, and regulation—is a popular reading assignment in many middle school classrooms despite the fact that it is also on the American Library Association list of the Most Challenged or Banned Books.

Lowry’s 1993 novel tells the story of young Jonas, born into a future world where there is no war, no pain, no fear. The goal of each citizen is “Sameness.” Everyone is assigned a role in the community at age twelve. Jonas is apprenticed to The Giver, the one person in the community who holds all of their memories of pain and pleasure, war and death. As Jonas’ spirit is filled with the joys and sorrows his own people will never experience, he begins to question the fundamental values of his society, the decisions to remove all extremes of emotion, and the attempt to regulate each person’s life from birth to death.

The power of Lowry’s tale lies in the juxtaposition of the apparently normal and familiar with the horrific and unthinkable, as such The Giver is not always an easy read. However, its message of individualism, truth-telling, and moral responsibility resonates with young readers. According to Director of Education for the Lyric Paula Winans, several stories were considered for this commission to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Lyric’s educational program. The Giver was an enthusiastic choice, and composer Susan Kander has distilled the novel into some of its fundamental elements, producing what all hope to be a memorable event.

In researching the novel and gaining permission from Lowry, Paula Winans discovered that Minnesota Opera was also considering the novel for a commission. So the Lyric and Minnesota decided on a joint project, sharing some elements of the set, props, and costumes. The opera will be produced by Minnesota’s youth program in the spring.

Kander’s score and book shift the novel’s structure slightly by placing the action in the past. Kander says she wanted to focus particularly on “Jonas’ awareness of love, and his awakening to the prospect of a life among people who could never return or share it with him or each other.” The story is placed in this framework with the citizens forming a kind of Greek chorus telling the story of this long-ago society. The retelling is therefore the opposite of what actually happens in The Giver’s society. For them, there are no memories, no stories to tell, no lessons to be learned from the past.

As the opera’s director Linda Ade Brand suggests, this is a ritual for the community now: “We are going to tell this story [every year] just as a reminder to not do this again.” Brand also notes how compelling yet disturbing the story is of an intense, “creepy” world that fascinates and repels.

Kander’s choices effectively utilize the youth program’s wide variety of young performers who range from early grade school to high school age. The chorus is on stage for most of the opera, lending assistance in the storytelling and creating the bridge between the audience and the events. Jayke Workman, who plays Jonas, suggests that in some ways, the opera will not be quite what people who know the story will expect; however, he believes the opera stays true to the fundamental elements of the tale, and finds himself feeling for the people of Jonas’ world even though there is no love in this community.

The Lyric Opera’s youth programs have been working with traditional and newly commissioned operas for twenty years; the strength of the program and performances lies in the dedication of those involved, especially the young performers. The Giver is a difficult opera—both vocally and dramatically—and the rehearsal time has been quite compressed. However, Brand and Winans have nothing but praise for their singers, who are extraordinarily focused and thoughtful in the creation of this work. In conjunction with the rehearsal process, the Lyric is producing a DVD that will go to the schools bringing students to the performance. It chronicles some of the preparation process, the ideas that the performers began to work with, and the questions raised by this story.

Lowry has agreed to attend The Giver premieres and to speak after each performance. When asked about the continuing appeal of her novel, Lowry acknowledged its ability to raise questions for young people, encouraging their thinking process, and allowing for debate and discussion. Kander’s adaptation hopes to stay true to that appeal and allow audiences to experience a story they know well and love in a new medium.

The Lyric is partnering with Rockhurst High School to present The Giver. For information on School Matinee performances contact the Lyric Opera Education department at 816-471-4933 or go to www.kcopera.org. Tickets for the January 14 performance may be purchased on the Lyric website as well. 

By Sarah Young

Classical and Musical Theatre Contributor

Sarah Young is a freelance writer and performer in opera, theatre, choral and musical theatre. She has been seen locally with Wichita Grand Opera, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Kansas City Civic Opera, Lawrence Community Theatre, Chestnut Fine Arts Center and in other local venues.  She studied voice at the University of Kansas, and has been trained in artist programs at Indiana University, Aspen Opera Theatre and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

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