Benjamin Button

Benjamin Button? Not again, please! Wasn't it dreadful enough the first time around!

I have to confess I never did see the blockbuster movie with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but I had heard enough bad reviews from friends that I was never tempted to go see it anyway. I was, however, intrigued when Eric Salzman, composer, author, arranger, and globe-trotting musician mentioned it to me over lunch the other day at Edgar's Cafe on the Upper West Side. Over panini and gazpacho he told me about his mentioned his involvement with a new opera called "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which was having its one and only New York performance that night at Symphony Space under the auspices of the Center for Contemporary Opera. I would have gone to the performance but already had plans that night, but Eric was kind enough to let me see the dress rehearsal. He cautioned me with a smile that I might be slightly surprised at what I was about to see. I didn't doubt him one bit.

Perplexed would absolutely be a good word to describe my initial reaction to the first two scenes (which was all I had time to see) Alert would be another. Nervous but curious would be some others. The piece calls for a relatively large cast (eight full cast members and several others who double as members of the orchestra) and a small chamber orchestra that sits on stage with the singers during the entire performance.

This opera is certainly full of the bleeps and blips that you would expect from quote-unquote "modern opera," but it is intimate and touching as well. The relationships seem awkward where they need to and make sense when they need to. I am sorry I had to cut out so soon after the start as I'm sure the rest would have been equally as thrilling.