children’s delight
by Douglas Messerli
Benjamin Britten
(based on the Chester Miracle Play) Noye’s Fludd / 2011
The groups included members of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, the
Hamilton High School Academy of Music Orchestra, the Colburn School String
Orchestra, the choir of St. John Etudes Church and School, members of the
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Choir, the Colburn School Children’s Choir,
Pueri Cantores San Gabriel Valley Children’s Choir, the Padre Serra Parish
Choir, the Jubilate Catholic Korean Choir, the St. Mel Parish Choir, and the
Musical Youth of California Children’s Choir. Eli Villaneuva directed, with
opera singers Richard Paul Fink, performing Noye, and Kate Lindsey, performing
Mrs. Noye, along with Richard K. Price, singing the voice of God.
Like past productions at the Cathedral of our Lady of Angels, the
production was a joyful one, which included the participation in three songs
from the congregation, along with lovely costumes—particularly with the entry
of dozens of pairs of animals performed by teens and young children—and with
the joyful music of the entire work, conducted by the beloved LA Opera
conductor James Conlon.
Perhaps the most fun of this piece involves the stubborn refusal of Mrs.
Noye to join her husband, as she remains on land surrounded by her gossiping
friends until finally Noye and his sons drag her onto the ark and into
salvation!
It was a perfect afternoon, which we followed with an excellent dinner
at Los Angeles’ famed Pacific Dining Car with Ana.
Los Angeles, April 20, 2011
