San Antonio Express-News, March 5, 2010

'Root' is a farce at heart

It's the big mystery of love.
It's the beet that can't be beat.
It's the turnip that turns me around.
It's a brief history of root vegetables."
From "The Theme Song From A Brief History of Root Vegetables"

To put it politely, opera fans have come to expect the unexpected from the art form. When someone isn't taking 20 minutes to die — while singing about it the whole time, of course — someone else is running around looking for a so-called magic flute or trying to curse someone else's child who is really his own child that was switched at birth. Or something like that.

And now, thanks to the efforts of the University of Texas at San Antonio Lyric Theatre and composer David Heuser, the opera canon can add to its roster energy-bar-obsessed heirs, cursed gardeners and trophy wives named (you got it) Trophy.

Oh. And let's not forget rutabagas. Lots and lots of rutabagas. Or maybe parsnips.

Or maybe not.

When the original opera production A Brief History of Root Vegetables is staged this weekend, its cast promises a "21st century farce" that finds its roots in the comic opera Gianni Schicchi, the quirkiness of Monty Python and the television series "Arrested Development," some slap-stick a la the Marx Brothers, and the energy of a Dave Eggers novel.

But, alas! "Anyone who expects to learn about root vegetables is going to be sorely disappointed," says Heuser, a UTSA professor whose compositions are a cornerstone of the Alamo City classical music scene.

While his one-act work The Golden Ax premiered at the 2008 Cactus Pear Music Festival, this is Heuser's first full-length opera.

The show, primarily featuring the talents of UTSA students, is under the direction of William McCrary and features select members of the UTSA Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Dowdy.

The action starts one bright morning at the palatial home of the well-to-do Smyth-Maggóts. The family — which includes a tipsy daughter, a fitness-obsessed ex-son-in-law, and a lovesick grandson — has gathered for the funeral of the family matriarch. They are joined by an officious narrator, a mysterious stranger, and a gardener who can say only "rutabaga" as they embark on a quest to bury the matriarch and (perhaps) discover a missing treasure.

"It's very fun, very crazy and truly farcical," McCrary says. "The humor is so off the wall, with these zany plots. It's a fun piece, musically very eclectic and a challenge for the students. I think people will come just for the fun story, that anyone that appreciates comedy will get it, but they'll really get into the music."

As Heuser puts it, "In (opera composer) Wagner's operas, he's making mountains out of mountains. We're making mountains out of molehills."

It's all part of the wicked wit that defines this distinctly modern operatic production.

"I read it and laughed," says senior Michelle Lange, a mezzo-soprano who plays the role of the vain Trophy, a perfectly made up character who is always digging through her bag in search of her compact.

"I do love playing her," Lange says. "She's fun, and it's so interesting to build a character that's never been on stage before. It's like papier-mâché — you go along with the framework, filling in pieces of the character and making it whole."

Heuser wrote both the libretto and the score for Root Vegetables — a massive undertaking that gave him the opportunity to craft a production that truly reflected both his humor and his desire to "bring opera, theatrically, into the modern era."

McCrary agrees. "It's completely different than anything else in that there are so many different elements going on," he says. "(Heuser) has a vision, and as we're all creating something from scratch together, it's allowed us to create something that's new and fresh."

The music itself is "definitely challenging," Lange says. "It's very serious in a complex way."

The libretto, for all its farce, is also packed with double meanings that should — like the best kinds of performance — resonate with different audience members on different levels. And then there are extra dimensions — including a completely incorrect theater program, super titles that have absolutely nothing to do with what's going on on stage, and stage directions that makes the most of "the chaos, this comedy that is so fun with lots of people," Heuser says. "Everyone brings something fresh to it."