For most of my life, I avoided opera. Not “like the plague,” necessarily. It just never seemed like the kind of entertainment I would enjoy. So, I never watched or went to an opera and tended to turn up my nose at operatic music, lest it offend my pop rock and country music sensibilities.
Then prompted by an opportunity to expand my horizons and write about something I’d never written about before, I saw Opera Birmingham’s world premiere of “Touch,” and my attitude changed. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed it. More than enjoyed it, actually; I was captivated.
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A masterful telling of the story of Alabama-born Helen Keller by composer/librettist Carla Lucero and co-librettist Marianna Mott Newirth, “Touch” picks up where the play “The Miracle Worker” left off.
“The Miracle Worker” introduced us to Helen as an untamed child, deaf and blind since infancy, struggling to make her solitary way in a hearing and seeing world. Pursuant to efforts by Helen’s father to find help for his daughter, a young woman named Anne Sullivan, herself sight impaired, came to stay at the Keller home in Tuscumbia, Alabama. This marked the beginning of a 49-year relationship as Helen’s teacher, companion, and friend.
“Touch” begins in 1904, as Helen, portrayed by Birmingham native Alie B. Gorrie, is about to graduate from Radcliffe College with Anne (Michelle Allie Drever) by her side. The story progresses from there to Anne’s romance with and ill-fated marriage to drunken womanizer John Macy (Caleb Clark) and on to Helen’s work as an anti-war and women’s suffrage activist.
Anne later becomes seriously ill, so a young interpreter, Peter Fagan (Patrick Bessenbacher), is hired to assist Helen, and romance blooms. The opera’s tone darkens as the Keller family, aided by Anne, essentially pushes Peter out of the picture, leaving a heartbroken Helen with the impression that she was abandoned.
Lacking the abilities to see and hear, Helen had to rely on unconventional means to communicate. Thus, her operatic mode of communication was a small chorus led by Catherine Goode as Helen’s voice. While the chorus expressed Helen’s inner thoughts, it left ample room for Gorrie to fully “be” Helen through facial expressions and body language.
As someone new to opera but not to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, I considered ASO’s ensemble presence on the “Touch” stage an unexpected bonus. Unbeknownst to me until I began my post-opera research for this article, an orchestra frequently appears onstage in an opera. Since the singers don’t use microphones, a crucial part of their operatic training is learning to project their voices above the orchestra and out to the audience.
Another noteworthy aspect of “Touch” was the care taken to embrace the hearing- and sight-impaired communities. I can find no better way to express this caring spirit and the potential it holds for the future of opera than to simply quote these lines from the “Touch” program: “The Low Vision, Blind, Deaf and DeafBlind communities are present in every note and word of this score and libretto, as well as in the directorial choices, set, costumes and lighting design of an amazing creative team. ‘Touch’ is a rare opportunity for opera to expand into untapped realms and foster greater representation of disability and agency on stage.”
In addition to her starring role, Gorrie acted as the production’s accessibility consultant. As an individual with low vision, Gorrie was in a unique position to determine the best ways to ensure that inclusion.
In this opera neophyte’s view, “Touch” was a compelling work of art hinged on what would have been an ordinary series of events, except for Helen. Over a half century after her death, Helen’s life remains a testament to the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity as it continues to offer inspiration not only to individuals with disabilities but to people everywhere.
As we left the theatre, I learned that my husband (who had been slightly arm-twisted into accompanying me) was equally impressed with the opera, and we talked about it all the way home. Not about the usual topics, like work the next day or what we’d have for dinner. We had a meaningful, thoroughly unanticipated conversation about – of all things – an opera.
But by setting aside our musical bias, we were rewarded with a delightful afternoon of entertainment and enlightenment. “Touch” opened a door for us in terms of the cultural arts and sparked a whole new line of thinking in terms of future date nights. To borrow a phrase from one of my husband’s favorite movies: “Opera Birmingham, we’ll be back.”
June Mathews is a freelance writer living and working in Trussville, Alabama.