So another rather interesting chamber opera from Europe has come my way.  It’s Like Flesh; music by Sivan Eldar and English language libretto by Cordelia Lynn.  It’s 80 minutes long and uses three soloists, a chorus of six and an eight piece instrumental group plus electronics.  It’s sort of a modern ecological take on Ovid’s idea of a woman turning into a tree.  Here the woman is unhappily married to the Forester who buys into the basic idea that Nature exists to serve humans and is a willing accomplice in environmental degradation.  There’s also a female student who is studying the forest and is discovering much that isn’t covered in the classroom.  The transformation takes place against a back drop of destructive wild fires and the wanton felling of woodland to make way for concrete.  Given the subject matter, the libretto is really quite poetic.

Musically it’s very modern in style.  It’s not exactly atonal but there are lots of colours and unusual interlayering of textures.  There’s plenty of tuned percussion and quite prolific use of electronics.  There are some quite abrasive passages but much that is really quite beautiful.  The solo vocal lines are mostly conversational or declamatory with nothing that one could call an aria but the three soloists have very distinct colours and all have excellent diction.  There’s some more elaborate writing for the chorus, who play The Forest.

The performances are very good.  Helena Rasker (Woman/Tree) has a really dark contralto that seems perfect for this rather mysterious character.  It also contrasts nicely with Juliette Allen’s bright soprano (the Student).  William Dazeley plays the Forester in a straightforwardly clear way as befits this relatively simple character.  The ensemble is Le Balcon (String quartet, flute, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, keyboards and percussion) and they certainly get plenty of colour out of the score.  The electronics are well done too.  Maxime Pascal conducts.

The recording was made live at Opéra de Lille in January 2022 and it’s excellent.  It’s clear and transparent with a very solid and well defined sound stage.  And I was listening to the CD resolution version.  It’s also available as a physical CD, MP3 or lossless 48kHz/24 bit.  The booklet has a full libretto and French translation.

I think this is the kind of opera the world needs more of.  It’s accessible without being patronising.  It deals poetically with a very real issue.  It’s the right length for today’s audience and it’s not too expensive to put on.  It’s also very tourable and has already appeared at several other French houses.

Catalogue information: B Records LBM077