Voices of a generation

We are the Lucky Ones is a brand-new opera. What can audiences expect from this work?

Claron McFadden: “What I find special about this opera is that it’s based on actual events and interviews with real people. So in that sense, it’s not pure fiction like so many other operas are. That adds a different dimension to the work for me. It is presented almost like a documentary, with spoken passages in addition to the singing on the stage. I think that quite intriguing.”

Bassem Akiki: “I basically see two tendencies in contemporary opera: composers who stick to the tradition of the genre and composers who reject everything that went before them and want to start something completely new. In my opinion, Philip is very much in the first category. You can hear he’s aware of the history of music – not just classical music – and has respect for it. But he is still taking steps to develop it further, for example in the form he has chosen for this opera with a lot of short scenes and unnamed characters.”

From the start, the opera was very much a collaboration between the composer, director and playwright. What effect has this had on the final result?

Claron McFadden: “Philip and Ted had worked together a lot before, of course. You can tell they know each other well, that it’s a joint enterprise. That’s a fantastic basis for a powerful work. We did a workshop together with Philip, Ted and Nina, and I had this feeling then that they genuinely listen to you, they are interested in who you are and how you can best get the story across that they have in mind. Opera is a larger-than-life art form, of course, one in which these three creatives are looking for a representation of reality.”

Bassem Akiki: “I do a lot of contemporary opera and I have to say there are many operas where you feel a disconnect between the text and the music, or it feels as if the music is being forced to support a text in a way that doesn’t feel natural. That is not the case here. The process of writing as a team, exchanging ideas and involving the director means you immediately have a connection between the three dimensions of opera — the text, the music and the theatrical interpretation.”

Bassem Akiki

“You can hear Philip Venables is aware of the history of music – not just classical music – and has respect for it”

This opera might be seen as a mosaic narrative, with a lot of different stories based on interviews. How do they fit together? Is there an overarching message?

Claron McFadden: “You could see it as the chronicle of a collective life, the life of people born in a particular era in Europe. They all experienced the aftermath of the Second World War and how the world developed afterwards. It is also a story of growing up, of adolescence, your first kiss and first love, as well as a story of pain and loss. It has so many facets. Sometimes it’s no more than a couple of sentences without any further context, but that can say so much. A lot is left unsaid, but that means the audience can insert their own meaning.”

Bassem Akiki: “All these interviews have indeed resulted in a kind of cradle-to-the-grave chronicle, which creates a natural narrative arc. But the strength of the piece lies in Philip’s fascinating music. What makes this opera special is that it can appeal to different types of audiences due to its form, both people who just want an evening out and to be entertained by a story, and experienced listeners who want to delve deeper into the meaning of the libretto and the music.”

How would you describe the music of Philip Venables?

Claron McFadden: “These days, ‘accessible’ has become almost a dirty word but it is how I would describe his work. His music is accessible in the sense that it supports the story; you don’t sense a conflict between the music and the storyline. In fact, the music adds a new dimension to the text. Even when the words describe a specific situation, Philip manages to give an unusual twist.”

Bassem Akiki: “This is his first opera for a large orchestra, but you can tell Philip has thought hard about the different colours of the orchestra and what they can add to the text. He also gives everything a kind of mathematical logic, which you don’t necessarily even notice at first. For example, when I first saw the score I thought the music at the start of the opera was really free-wheeling, but later I realised how well-structured and carefully thought out it all was. It gives the text an important dramatic dimension and adds a noticeable heartbeat to the story.”

What role do the singers play in the opera? Do you have to keep stepping in and out of your characters, in a work with so many scenes?

Claron McFadden: “As singers, we aren’t playing roles in the traditional sense of the word. We don’t act the parts of the people in the interviews; we tell their stories rather neutrally. Of course, we add ambience and energy to the text, but we keep a certain distance. We sing some of the texts as groups, of varying sizes, with the emphasis sometimes on the high voices and at other times on the lower ones. In that regard, it’s very much an ensemble work. That sense of distance also makes it easier to present the different kinds of texts, which sometimes clearly reflect the specific gender and background of the person interviewed.”

Claron McFadden

“You could see it as the chronicle of a collective life”

The opera is about the experiences of a generation born between 1940 and 1949. What does that reflection on the past offer opera audiences today?

Claron McFadden: : “When at high school in the US, I did a course in European Studies and the first thing the teacher said was, ‘History repeats itself because no one listened the first time.’ Sometimes we act as if nothing came before us and the same things will never happen again. But our lives are deeply affected by the past. Children adopt the viewpoints — both positive and negative — of their parents or grandparents and pass them on in turn to their descendants. In Europe, we are still living with the legacy of the generation that speaks to us in the opera. In that sense, their story is timeless.”

Bassem Akiki: “The irony is that we don’t seem to have learned from what this generation went through, from their history. War is so close by, but we are behaving as if nothing is wrong. We should be trying to make progress and turn the world into a better place.”

The growth generation

The different generations seem further apart than ever. In 2019, the Dutch word of the year was ‘boomer’, defined by the Van Dale dictionary as a “person, particularly one advanced in age, with old-fashioned views or conservative opinions” – more like a “fuddy-duddy” or “fossil” in English. Unlike winning words from other years, this term has become embedded in the Dutch language. 

Boomers. The term alone can unleash an avalanche of criticism. Aren’t the people who were born and grew up in the Netherlands during the post-war reconstruction responsible for the crises affecting society today? They had it all: permanent jobs, affordable housing, good education accessible to all and a generous pension, which means they can now go on cruises twice a year and spend their days on the golf course without a care in the world.

We Are The Lucky Ones adds nuances that qualify that image. It also poses a number of relevant questions. For example, how much responsibility does this generation bear as individuals? Weren’t they simply swept along by the forces of history? What could they have done differently? The opera has a kaleidoscope structure, allowing great diversity in the stories and perspectives that are presented.

Text: Benjamin Rous

We Are The Luckey Ones will be performed at Dutch National Opera & Ballet from March 14 to March 30