"...dramatically, musically, and appropriately out of this world."

-- Drew Neneman, Omaha World Herald

Stranger From Paradise is a chamber opera that weaves through the life and work of the visionary artist William Blake and his wife, Catherine.

Written as a collaboration between composer, Nevada Jones and librettist, Kevin Lawler, Stranger From Paradise had its world premiere in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 26th, 2017. The opera was commissioned by Opera Omaha and produced in partnership with the Great Plains Theatre Conference.

Review: In world premiere at Opera Omaha, mythical visuals fuse with transcendent music

By Drew Neneman / World-Herald correspondent May 27, 2017

Travel 200 years into the past and you might learn where humanity is headed.

For Opera Omaha and the Great Plains Theatre Conference on Friday night, at the world premiere of “Stranger from Paradise,” such a sentiment is appropriate for a discussion of where opera theater is headed. The production, staged at Metropolitan Community College’s South Campus Industrial Training Center, is a stream-of-consciousness biography of English Romantic poet and painter William Blake.

Composer Nevada Jones, of Portland, Oregon, presents the piece as his operatic and Opera Omaha debut. His good friend, Kevin Lawler, director of the Great Plains Theatre Conference, wrote the libretto and directed the piece.

The music was tremendous. It sounded like Westminster Abbey, English folk tunes and the symphonic greats of the British Isles all at once.

The pit orchestra of only nine players was a character all its own under the baton of Hal France, former artistic director of Opera Omaha.

In addition to effective musical allusions relevant to Blake’s life and times, Jones demonstrated a unique compositional voice. The nature of this small orchestral piece was transcendent and complex, befitting the metaphysical nature of Blake’s work.

Lawler’s libretto cooperated elegantly with the music. It wove together several thematically unified and vaguely chronological vignettes. These segments combined major events in Blake’s life with publications from his literary world as well as his own poetry.

The design team — Cecilia Durbin, Ali Hall, Simon Harding, Pei-Wen Huang-Shea, Valerie St. Pierre-Smith — and technical director Mark Blice created a world where mythical images of the afterlife converged upon an English countryside.

The set was rich with homages to fairy-tale mystique and Blake’s publications. Most stunning of all was the injection of Blake’s own paintings, projected in montage throughout the action.

Terry Hodges portrayed Old William with stunning baritone timbre and touching sincerity. Amanda DeBoer was evocative and dexterous as Young Catherine. Matthew Clegg made an endearing debut with Opera Omaha singing the role of Young William with rare beauty and ease. Karina Brazas dazzled, singing the evening’s first aria in her portrayal of Blake’s fantastical demigoddess, Enitharmon.

Also debuting with Opera Omaha were Kaylee Lempke and Audrey Saucier — who portrayed multiple child characters — ensemble member Carrie Kouma, and Sebastian Sorensen, who was stirring and beautiful in his portrayal of Blake’s younger brother, Robert. The entire company was dramatically, musically and appropriately out of this world.

-- Review from the May 27th, 2017 issue of the Omaha World-Herald