Review: 3-D Enhances An Enigmatic New Opera

Mr. van der Aa’s libretto mingles riffs on incidents from Jonker’s life — recounting an accidental drowning, set in 1976, of a young boy who walks into the sea — and spoken verses from her writings. But his two characters are unnamed archetypal figures, Woman and Man.

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The Woman, after pulling stray words and thoughts together with obvious difficulty, tells of the drowning of her 7-year-old son at play, which she witnessed but — “riveted to the ground…frozen” — was powerless to prevent. Then the Man appears (the boy is represented only on film), recalling what seems to be the same incident from his perspective, telling of the death of his mother as she saved him from drowning.

Mr. van der Aa’s stage direction, in a production that originated at the Dutch National Opera last year, presents it all in wondrous technological strokes. The Swedish soprano Miah Persson, the lone live presence on stage as the Woman, also appears in the 3-D film in two seemingly identical manifestations, often singing duets, and even trios, with herself.

Her live singing is amplified, to match with the recorded sound, but it was done subtly enough on Thursday that her voice retained its distinctive qualities of tone and expression. Her English, in both speech and song, was admirably clear.

Ms. Persson also interacts with the British baritone Roderick Williams, as the Man, who appears only on film. His tone, as recorded, was also attractive, his delivery pliant.

In addition, the Netherlands Chamber Choir sings in the film, echoing the text in little word bouquets, but is not seen. Mr. van der Aa’s music is spare but compelling, ranging from long, lyrical vocal lines to electronic sound effects and techno-pop. Doubling as a sort of stagehand, Ms. Persson moves props around and rearranges small models of the Woman and Man’s home, which are then projected on the screen, blown up to life size.

All of this took place remarkably seamlessly on Thursday and held attention throughout, despite the occasional distraction of trying to figure out just how the magician was doing his technical tricks. The production was especially effective at establishing moods and atmospheres, and carrying through motifs like mirrors and shadows. Floriaan Ganzevoort made a strong contribution as lighting designer.

Not every composer is so versatile technologically, of course, and it remains to be seen how effective a model “Blank Out” will be for the future of opera. Mr. van der Aa, at least, can undoubtedly be counted on to continue to point up the possibilities.

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