STUDENT OPERA REVIEW: Mrs. President - The Martin Harris Centre, Manchester.

“Mrs President” is a sparkling 21^st century American opera about the first woman to run for President: Victoria Woodhull. Performed by the students of MUMS Opera, last night’s performance was at the Martin Harris Centre in Manchester, and ended in a standing ovation.

The staging was very simple, mostly based around a white wooden platform with banners hanging from it; and clothing that suggested that the period is 1846 to 1872, in the locations of Ohio and New York. The small orchestra was to one side, and conducted with elegant skill: – I apologise, but I do not have a cast and creatives list, and cannot say who by. The musicianship was of a high standard, and did great service to Victoria Bond’s beautiful score.

The voices of the assembled cast were quite lovely, and showed very sound technique: – a lot of work and rehearsal had gone into the vocal performances, and it was a pleasure to listen to. My one comment is that the microphones hanging from the ceiling were distorting the clarity of the diction, so it was sometimes difficult to understand Hilary Bell’s libretto; and being a modern opera, I did not know the story in advance.

The singer performing Victoria did a firm performance, presenting a strong and formidable woman who believed passionately in her causes of women’s rights and free love. She was matched by the singer playing her husband James Blood, who has an especially rich voice with good dynamics and shading. The singer playing the corrupt and hypocritical celebrity preacher Henry Ward Beecher kept a keen edge of slime and sleaze going throughout his performance. And his counterpart, the thwarted lover Joseph Treat, had an intelligent edge of dark manipulation in his.

The singer playing Henry’s younger sister Isabella was very sweet and sincere. The singer playing Victoria’s mother was warm and with presence. There were quite a lot of bit parts: special mention goes to the soulful-looking child Victoria, the bitterly shy slave girl who was auctioned, the voiceless parishioner who was impregnated, and the arresting police officer.

The chorus work was excellent: they were a full character in their own right. With a story that was so much about courting public opinion, that force of voices was needed for Victoria to push against. Bond’s score took the voices into all sorts of places, from a spiritual séance for Civil War widows to a presidential rally gone wrong where the mob were calling “Mrs Satan For President.” The director handled the large groups on stage very well, with a naturally organic flow of movement; and the storytelling was understated, but still possessing of quiet tension.

Reviewer - Thalia Terpsichore
on - 18.2.23