It wasn't enough for Duke Ellington to contribute some 3,000 songs to the Great American Fakebook. No, towards the end of his life, he began composing a jazz opera: Queenie Pie.
Now, his work may not be considered alongside the great operatic majority, especially since it replaces cadenzas with scatting. And it is precisely this kind of freedom that proves most difficult when reviving the piece for the stage.
Loosely based on the first-ever female millionaire, Madame C.J. Walker, Ellington's story indeed concerns a dark-skinned beautician (Queenie Pie) who is lauded by her fellow hairdressers. That is, until a lighter-skinned woman, Café O'Lay, tries to steal her shine.
As one would surmise, the issue with the two focuses, in part, on race. But the duo also rival for the same lover. That is, until he's shot dead by O'Lay...after which Queenie Pie retreats to a magical island.
Ultimately, racial undertones and stereotypes are central to the opera's theme. And the subsequent love triangle, if not the more fantastical plot points, hardly change when transposed to living opera.
It's unfortunate, then, that Ellington died in 1974 before completing his masterpiece. Alas, leaving it unfinished left too many holes for other auteurs to fill in with their own ideas about what the Duke would have wanted.
Having been staged only a few times, Queenie Pie has since remained a work-in-progress for musician Marc Bolin, as he attempted to relocate missing parts and reconcile the entire lot. Sadly, he, too, was unable to finish as a lot of Ellington's original notes and errata have perished over time.
The Oakland Opera Theater in 2008, though, used Bolin's arrangement, putting the controversy of colorism center stage. And Bolin, seemingly satisfied, commented: "You've got this little germ of a bread, and you never get rid of the initial germ, but can make tons of different loaves."
To wit, like we first reported, the production moves to Chicago Opera Theater on February 15, running through March 5.
Do yourself a favor, and give it a listen below.
