Recordings > Opera and Oratorio
BEESON:
Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines
Wilcox, James, N. Jones, Sisney, Yarmat; R. O. Jones, Green; Kansas City Lyric Theatre, Patterson. Texts. Albany TROY 1149/50 (2)
It is cause for celebration to have the original 1976 recording of the late Jack Beeson's Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines returned to the active catalogue.
Based on Clyde Fitch's 1901 play of the same title, Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines is a delightful romantic comedy set in the 1870s and centered around the New York opera debut of Aurelia Trentoni, a celebrated Italian soprano, who turns out to have been born in New Jersey (and with the last name of Johnson). As she is disembarking from her boat, she meets a somewhat rakish young attorney, Jonathan Jinks, who has bet one of his friends that he can successfully woo Trentoni. However, after getting to know Johnson/Trentoni, Jinks genuinely falls in love with her. He rues the bet and unsuccessfully attempts to cancel it. Therein begins the series of twists that make up the plot of this engaging comedy.
The score by Beeson (1921–2010) is varied and eclectic. Essentially tonal in character, his music veers toward the more advanced, including the use of twelve-tone tonalities in places. One can hear the influence of composers such as Mahler, Britten and Stravinsky. The music in the love scenes is warm and lyrical, while the more comedic passages feature angular melodies with large leaps in them. The reporter from TheNew York Times (performed by George Livings) must hit a series of high Cs, while Mademoiselle Trentoni's music includes an altissimo F. Beeson takes full advantage of librettist Sheldon Harnick's references to pillars of the standard opera canon, quoting such works as Fidelio, Norma and especially La Traviata, the vehicle of Trentoni's debut. These quotes fit seamlessly into the larger texture of the opera. The score as a whole abounds in humor and romance.
The thirty-four-year-old recording features a strong cast, glowing with talent. Carol Wilcox ably conveys Aurelia Trentoni's polish as an opera star yet also shows the character's underlying vulnerability and hopefulness. Tenor Robert Owen Jones portrays Jonathan Jinks in a very charismatic way. One is moved by his lyrical tenderness and roots for Jinks as he faces the challenge of re-winning Aurelia's affections. Eugene Green delivers a marvelous depiction of Trentoni's manager, Colonel Mapleson, particularly in his Act II comic lament on the woes of being an impresario. Special praise is also due to Karen Yarmat, for her portrayal of the icy yet ultimately warmhearted Mrs. Jinks (Jonathan's mother), and to Linda Sisney, for her witty interpretation of Mrs. Stonington, the "First Vice-President of the Ladies Anti-French Literature League," who urges Trentoni to make her debut in oratorio, rather than in such a licentious dramatic work as La Traviata. Throughout, Russell Patterson leads the orchestra and singers with a flexible, assured musical vision.
Years ago, Beeson told this reviewer that as difficult as it is to get an opera staged, it is much more difficult to get second or third productions of the same work. Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines is certainly worthy of a larger presence in American opera houses. In lieu of experiencing the charming work on the stage, one can gain much enjoyment from this superb recording of it.
ARLO MCKINNON
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