Baltimore Out Loud

D.C. Culbertson - March 2004

"A ‘Fox’ at Wolf Trap - World premiere of new opera at Wolf Trap’s Barns"

To some, Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts is a place to hear their favorite bands and musicals. But for over 30 years opera has also been a vital part of the center’s programming, including a summer series in their Barns Theatre and a special program for young singers. Now Wolf Trap has commissioned its very first opera, Volpone, which will receive its world premiere this month.

According to a statement by Wolf Trap Opera Company general director Kim Witman, in creating Volpone, “We set out first and foremost to make a solid contribution to the chamber opera repertoire. We wanted to engage the best creative talent available to fashion a piece that would play well in both a typical (mid-sized) opera house and a small theatre” such as the Barns’ 350-seat space. It was also decided that the opera should be a comedy because “comedy has been a mainstay of the operatic tradition for hundreds of years, and we all feel strongly that it is woefully underrepresented in the canon of new work.”

Originally written in 1606, Ben Jonson’s Volpone (meaning “the fox”) is the tale of crafty rich bachelor Volpone, surrounded by greedy people who care more about his considerable fortune than him. He cooks up a scheme to get back at them, with the aid of his manservant Mosca: he will pretend to be mortally ill and bilk these “friends” out of their money, dignity, and even loved ones in the hopes of gaining his favor, while enjoying himself considerably at their expense. For the composer, the company chose John Musto, who was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his song cycle Dove Sta Amore and who won Emmy Awards for his scores to the documentaries Into the Light and Brick City. For his librettist, Musto chose Mark Campbell, who he hooked up with through a mutual friend. “I gave John a work sample and we met for about an hour and he engaged me on that day,” remembers Campbell, speaking by phone from a DC-area hotel where he’s staying during rehearsals.

Campbell is no stranger to the world of music theater. He received a Drama Desk Award nomination for the Off-Broadway musical Splendora, has won two Richard Rodgers Awards and a Rockefeller Foundation Award and, most impressively, the first Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricists, the largest cash award to date given to an individual artist in musical theater. He’s also no stranger to the Washington area; he grew up there and his partner’s family still lives there.

According to Campbell, Musto really didn’t have any specific idea in mind for a plot when he first engaged him to write the libretto. He just knew he wanted the piece to be classically structured and funny, with a libretto that rhymed and could include a lot of ensemble singing. “He said, ‘Go find me something,’” said Campbell, “and I came back with three subjects. But in my heart of hearts I wanted to do Volpone.” He had seen a TV production of the play, starring Frank Langella, in the 1970s, “and it stuck with me.” In fact, he had thought of developing it into a musical before Musto even approached him. He gave Musto the script of Sly Fox, Larry Gelbart’s adaptation of the play, and the composer liked it enough to give him the go-ahead.

In making his adaptation, Campbell made a number of major changes to the original play. In addition to entirely rewriting the script--he says none of the original text is used--he dropped a plot line which he felt was largely irrelevant to the main one, changed the gender of three of the characters in response to Musto’s request that there be more female roles, and added a new character as well. At the end of the original play, Volpone and Mosca are sent to jail for their deception, but Campbell felt that wasn’t fair and has them rescued. Since Musto wanted the music to be primarily tuneful arias, Campbell tried to structure his lines accordingly as well.

Campbell wrote the first act of the opera in about two weeks during 2002, and it was developed in a workshop at Wolf Trap later that same year. The following year he wrote the remaining act, and it was workshopped last May. He’s full of praise for the way Wolf Trap has accommodated him. “Usually, the librettist is a little bit above a wig-maker, but I’ve been allowed to participate in the audition process. Kim [Witman] has just been amazing; she’s just been in the trenches,” doing everything from accompanying rehearsals to ordering lunches. “I can’t praise Wolf Trap enough. They’ve just been fantastic.”

Volpone is the first opera Campbell’s done that has been fully produced, and he’s enjoyed doing it--”I don’t think people want to hear challenging music on Broadway”--and would love to work with Musto again in some capacity. And he’s looking forward to the premiere. “I’m happy about everything--and I’m not generally a happy person.”