Douglas J. Cuomo's chamber opera Arjuna's Dilemma is a genuinely original work.
Cuomo, who is best known for writing the theme for Sex and the City, has worked extensively in theater and television, and that experience has served as excellent preparation for writing opera. He clearly understands how music and dramatic action are coordinated. The opera's story, taken from the Bhagavad Gita, is a metaphorical exploration of an individual's coming to terms with the conflicts that prevent him from taking decisive action in life. Such a large theme demands a commanding artistic vision, and
Cuomo has the resources to pull it off without trivializing it, which is a really impressive achievement. His score is stylistically all over the place, using traditional Indian ragas, free jazz, unabashed tonal lyricism, his own style of minimalist repetition, chant, Bollywood-style pop, and a full arsenal of modernist techniques.
Cuomo handles the juxtaposition and sometimes superimposition of the various types of music with such skill that the opera has a sense of unity and purposefulness despite its diversity of styles. The musical development has a feeling of inevitability that keeps the listener fully engaged, but it's full of astonishing turns and is never predictable.
Cuomo is also a natural vocal composer and his writing for the voice is simply gorgeous.
The production by the New York-based Music-Theatre Group is fabulous in its sophistication and polish; it's a pleasure to hear a new opera given such a compelling treatment. Indian vocalist
Amit Chatterjee and tenor
Tony Boutté sing with thrilling passion and energy. The women's chorus, a quartet of soloists, has a pure tone, remarkably focused intonation and incisive delivery. Two instrumentalists, tenor saxophonist
Bob Franceschini and tabla player
Badal Roy, have critical musical and dramatic roles and play with mesmerizing intensity. Alan Johnson leads a chamber ensemble that features the
Ethel string quartet in an elegant and urgent reading of the score. Innova's sound is clear and creates an immediate sense of presence. Arjuna's Dilemma is an opera that should be explored by anyone with an interest in fresh new directions in music theater. Highly recommended. ~ Stephen Eddins