Photo by Maria Baranova
Saturday January 20th, 2024 – I’m so glad I managed to get to see Adoration as part of the Prototype Festival. I haven’t seen the movie that it was based on, but would be interested in seeing it now – the story was well done but I would be curious to see how much more detail is explored in a movie version. For those who don’t know, the story is about a teenage kid (Simon) coming to terms with his parents’ death and their pasts. Simon reveals at school that his father was a terrorist and it seems that he opens up discussions with his classmates and online that are incredibly relevant at this moment in time.
I ended up being very focused on the storytelling and messaging of the difficult content, but want to make sure to first say that the music was amazing – Mary Kouyoumdjian’s score was beautiful – the instrumental parts often unassuming but supporting the drama, and the vocal lines soaring and satisfying. I don’t have the best ear when it comes to vocalists, but I thought they all sounded great – particularly Omar Najmi in the role of Simon. The choice to have them all mic’d was an interesting one which seemed mostly relevant for the purpose of adding reverb to certain scenes. It was a nice effect and changed up the sound a bit, though it didn’t seem necessary to me. Overall I imagine it added more control and an even sound – everyone was heard clearly throughout the show.
The set was simple but striking. I really liked the gradual beginning to the show – young Simon is on stage before the show starts, writing and sitting on the floor. The staging and set used live video that I’ve seen at many new opera productions recently – though in some interesting new ways, juxtaposed with recorded video, or used to project a photograph.
Photo by Maria Baranova
Still, the most interesting part of this show was the story, for me. I was constantly asking myself questions and hoping to get clarity – which were mostly answered, though not explored in too much depth (understandable in the one act setting). I thought it was interesting that the main theme that was brought continually back was “innocence” rather than what many people might see in this type of source material: justice or justification, or motive. The real discussion of these themes comes from the actions of the character of Simon’s teacher, who is mentoring him and pushing him to explore his parents’ past. Her motives are questioned until we learn her backstory and understand her involvement in a new light. Was that the point?
It’s very hard to present something like this at any moment in time, but particularly now. I commend those who decided to do it anyway – and am curious what they hoped for us to get from it. I hope the piece has a long life and more people have the opportunity to ask these questions.
~ Shoshana Klein
Oberon's Glade 