With a running time of approximately two hours and thirty minutes, Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys is already different from most operas that are three hours or longer. Muhly claims that the two act opera, with an English-language libretto written by American playwright Craig Lucas, is based on real events that occurred in Manchester, England, in 2001. Also, unlike most operas that touch upon older, classical themes, Muhly’s revolves around a present theme in society: the Internet and its dark side.
Critics have been liking and disliking Two Boys. Those who disagree attest that Muhly’s opera is too current and not following opera tradition, and that it is unnecessarily sexually explicit. Those who like Two Boys counter these arguments, testifying that changing times necessitates changes in the performing arts if the younger generations – whose lives internet plays a large part in – are to be captivated by them and allow them to survive, and that the sexual scenes are necessary for the play’s plot to be fully completed. Personally, after seeing Two Boys, I agree with the latter.
The first act of the opera consists of Police Detective Anne Strawson, played by mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, being assigned to a case involving the stabbing of a 13 year-old-boy, Jake, near the town’s shopping center, and the tale his 16-year-old friend Brian, played by tenor Paul Appleby, gives to Detective Strawson of how everything led to him stabbing his younger friend. There are a few sexually explicit scenes in this act, but they add to the validity of the storyline in the end. Throughout the act, viewers are either captivated or appalled by the effects and dancing that take place on stage. In my opinion, the effects – that may sometimes seem overwhelming to those who prefer traditional opera tales – adds a great deal to the telling of the cyber story. Although the first act is definitely much slower than the second, every scene and every line has importance to the storyline that becomes beautifully laid out in the second act.
Sources say that the intricate web of online intrigue is created through the combination of video projections by 59 Productions, the brilliant choreography for the dancers, and Muhly’s score that feature lyrical vocal writing and astonishing choruses. Together, these three pieces capture the enigmatic realm of cyberspace and reveals its dangers. The projections also allow much clarification to the audience as to what the actors are saying in times where the dialogue is speedy, or in verse that may be difficult for some audience members, who may be paying attention to the scene rather than the actor’s voice, to fully comprehend. This leads to one downside of the production: At some points there is so much going on that it is physically impossible for a viewer to catch everything that is happening on the stage. This, despite being a possible negative, is also very correct as a portrayal of the Internet – which is complex and impossible to see all of.
All of the confusions an audience member may have throughout the first act and beginning of the second are dissolved as the plot is pulled together through brilliant choreography and verse. Composer Nico Muhly, director Bartlett Sher, choreographer Hofesh Shecter, and librettist Craig Lucas do a marvelous job of uniting their geniuses to cleverly tie together a complex plot, and produce a marvelous ending to a spectacular and thought-provoking, modern opera.
