All Quiet on the Western Front had a most fitting presentation the Saturday before Memorial Day, in the centennial year of the outbreak of World War I. Nancy Van de Vate's opera, based on the famous novel by Erich Maria Remarque, premiered in Osnabrück, Germany in 2003 (followed by a partial performance at New York's Opera Vox showcase.)
A new libretto--adapted from the book and the 1930 film--heavily featured the character Paul Bäumer, a teenage German soldier encouraged by his teacher to join the army after the war begins.
And for Saturday's updated performance, the overture found a backdrop of archival footage, grainy images and text outlining the events that sparked the first World War.
Alas, Franz Ferdinand was not in attendance.
The New York Times writes:
"[Van de Vate's] skillfully wrought score would have benefited from a more polished and tighter-knit performance; untidy playing sometimes blemished this rendition. The vocal soloists were variable, with inconsistent, albeit expressive, singing by the tenor Christopher Lucier as Paul. The tenor John Horton Murray sang with dramatic conviction and a resonant voice as Kantorek; Scott Lindroth sang with an appealing baritone as Kat."
