Opera returns to the Wexner Center for the Arts with a Hemingway classic

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Opera returns to the Wexner Center for the Arts with a Hemingway classic

'The Old Man and the Sea' running Oct. 10, 12

Opera fans know the names of the medium's greats: Puccini, Mozart, Verdi. But what about Hemingway?

On Oct. 10 and 12, visitors to the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University can see an opera adaptation of "The Old Man and the Sea," one of Ernest Hemingway's novellas.

"When Beth Morrison Projects first pitched "The Old Man and the Sea," I immediately knew it was the perfect piece for our first collaboration with the Wexner Center," said Julia Noulin-Mérat, general director and chief executive officer of Opera Columbus. "What captivated me was how it blends cinematic video design with a meditative score - it feels as much like an immersive art installation as an opera. Partnering with the Wexner Center for the Arts and Ohio State makes perfect sense because this production lives at the intersection of opera, film and contemporary art."

The show first ran in 2023 at Arizona State University's Gammage Auditorium. Elena Perantoni, senior producer at the Wexner Center, saw it last year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

"I was floored," she said. "This is contemporary opera. It is engaging in the way we want contemporary art to be: a commentary on our current lives and our world."

The 90-minute opera, by Paola Prestini, Royce Vavrek and Karmina Šilec, is based on Hemingway's story about a fisherman chasing one last catch. Interspersed through the original story are portraits of everyday life that examine aging, legacy and humanity's relationship with the ocean.

The performance could not have come to Columbus without internal and external partnerships, Perantoni said. Co-presented by the Wexner Center and Opera Columbus, the piece is also produced by the Beth Morrison Projects.

Inside the university, the Wexner Center was joined by the Office of Academic Affairs and the School of Music in developing the performance opportunity.

"This breathtaking production is a perfect extension of the many ways in which the Wexner Center for the Arts supports students and faculty. We are committed to inviting and ensuring that our campus communities are engaged with every part of the multidisciplinary contemporary works of art that we carefully choose to present," said Gaëtane Verna, executive director of the Wexner Center. "Co-producing with Opera Columbus and receiving the invaluable financial support of the Office of Academic Affairs was essential to our ability to present and share this bold and captivating new original production from Beth Morrison Projects, which reimagines Hemingway's iconic story from a new perspective."

Music students had a special opportunity.

"In addition to the four main characters, there is a chorus of 16 people," Perantoni said. "Many of those roles are cast locally, including from the School of Music. The others are community members with ties to the university - alumni, faculty, staff and others."

Increasing student access to artists is a focus for Perantoni, she said.

"How can we bring students in to see how artists work? How can we bring artists to classrooms to talk to students?" she said. "We've had a lot of luck with that kind of engagement. We look for every opportunity where students can engage with artists. It's a core part of the Wexner Center."

Sidra Bell, graduate research associate in the university's dance department and The Wex's presenting team, serves as an artistic collaborator with the directing team. She has been with the production since its early days in 2023 and has worked for director Karmina Šilec as a consultant since 2015.

By including locals in each performance, she said, the show has a specific flavor.

"It's exciting that every city has a different chorus," she said. "The leads stay the same. The show becomes this web of new perspectives."

The staging of the show is also different from a typical opera. Actors move around, and sometimes in, pools of water.

"There is quite a bit of water on the stage," Perantoni said. "That's a technician's worst nightmare. Microphones and electrical cords don't mix with water. Luckily, Beth Morrison Projects has already figured this out. We've kept everyone safe."

Bell took special care to mitigate risk for the dancers interacting with the water on stage.

"There's always risk in movement work," she said. "To avoid injury, the chorus is organized in a specific way and follows a specific path."

Audience members don't need to worry about bringing plastic ponchos, Perantoni said.

"No water comes off the stage," she said. "There's no splash zone."

Performances like this are why Bell came to Ohio State to pursue her doctorate.

"Ohio State has this reputation of being on the cutting edge of dance," she said. "There's a lot of opportunity here."

In fact, Bell's coursework allows her to appreciate her opera experience from an academic perspective as well as a creative one.

"I'm taking a music history class and we're getting into the origins of opera," she said. "I'm actually practicing the things that we're talking about in my classes. It's amazing. I'm very lucky."

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