The first question everyone asks: “So how crazy are the Grammys?” I answer with the description of someone I saw on the red carpet: trailing in the cruiseship-sized wake of J.Lo, there appeared a very large bodyguard wearing a Louis Vuitton bullet-proof vest – while carrying a baby. Because this is how you roll on the red carpet at the Grammys.
I didn’t have a bodyguard – we classical music nominees just take our chances – but I did have a lovely crew of family, friends, and cast members from The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, which was nominated in four categories. And even though we didn’t have a rapper’s posse, we had plenty of swagger when they announced we won in Best Opera. (The swagger notched down when they cut my speech to move to the next category – nexxxxt!)
The Grammy for Best Opera is a much-appreciated recognition for a piece that continues to stay in the public awareness. After its exhilarating premiere run at Santa Fe Opera two summers ago, the stellar recording was released by Pentatone Records under producer Elizabeth Ostrow, followed by performances at Indiana University and now Seattle Opera Feb 23 – Mar 9 (info here). And like the mothership returning to home base, the ultimate trajectory of Steve Jobs is the subject’s birthplace – the Bay Area, where San Francisco Opera presents the original cast next spring. It’ll be a highly resonant convergence of setting and subject matter.
That resonance can be felt now in Seattle, a tech powerhouse filled with plenty of creative technologists who can relate to this story. Many people seem both surprised and intrigued by the notion of Steve Jobs as the subject of an opera, but it has always struck me as such a pregnant possibility. After all, opera trades in stories of artists – from La Bohème to Tales of Hoffman to Death in Venice – and Jobs very much fashioned himself as an artist, albeit a new breed. Whether you live in the Bay Area as I do, or Seattle or Boston or countless other cities, you’ve encountered this new class of creative techies. Like Jobs, these are people who are changing our civilization yet face some serious human challenges. Jobs’ role as both protagonist and antagonist in his own life is the stuff of opera, and it’s been fascinating to see this work resonate in very different places.
One huge surprise to me: how different casts inhabit the work. I’ve now heard three different casts perform the work, and I’m struck by the way the piece fosters a tight, almost familial bond between its singers. That has a lot to do with the intimate architecture of the principle roles, of which there are only six. Each character, from Jobs’ wife Laurene to his girlfriend Chrisann, from his Apple co-founder Woz to his Buddhist mentor Kobun, plays a pivotal role in the opera.
It was wonderful to hang at the Grammys with Ed Parks, the stunning baritone who first brought the role of Jobs to life. He has a hugely powerful voice that retains a clarity even at the top of the range. It’ll be fascinating to see Ed reprise the role in San Francisco next year. Right now in Seattle, we’ve got a fascinating new take on the role by John Moore, whose laser-sharp dramatic focus and flashes of darkness were evident on the first day of rehearsals. Seeing these two phenomenal singers invest everything in inhabiting this role, I’m reminded that many of us see a bit Steve Jobs in us. There’s a straight line between brilliant creativity and authoritarian control, between charismatic persuasion and manipulation.
So. The Grammys. What else? Some facts:
- The most outrageous outfits always appear in the New Age category (this year someone wore a birdcage on his head).
- The live telecast prohibits alcohol, so you have people in black-tie-clad smuggling booze despite paying hundreds of dollars per ticket.
- The official Grammy afterparty is the most spectacular and glamorous assembling of thousands of black-tie-clad people I’ve encountered. But the security line to get inside resembled a refugee camp, with people freezing in the cold while waiting to go through three metal detectors.
- Serious politics are at work behind the scenes, and all big awards have music industry shenanigans (even in classical music). So, like concert reviews, what happens at the Grammys should not be internalized. If you come close, you enjoy the show and meet some great people. If Fortune smiles upon you, you thank your luck stars – and get in the long security line.