Opera Moves: Priscilla Nathan-Murphy on HGO

Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades

Photo by Felix Sanchez

Choreographer/Instructor Priscilla Nathan-Murphy is most known as principal of the lower school at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. In addition, she also directs the modern program there. Recently, Nathan-Murphy has contributed her movement expertise to the Houston Grand Opera productions of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades and Handel’s Xerxes. Nathan-Murphy gives us a glimpse of her opera life.

Dance Source Houston: Give us a little history of your time at HGO.

Priscilla Nathan-Murphy: I started about as a dancer in Turandot several years ago. I served as the Dance captain for Aida and even had a little solo. Other productions include Don Giovanni, Rigoletto , La Traviata and Jenufa. During this time, I also taught movement for the HGO studio members. These were all during the David Gockley years. From time to time, I would be called in to work with principals and chorus members. Over the years, I’ve worked with Renee Fleming, Patricia Racett, Samuel Ramey and Laura Claycomb.

DSH: How did you get involved this time around? You must be thrilled to be working with Claycomb again in Xerxes.

PNM: Yes, I am. It’s so great to see her again after all these years. She was a big star back then and she’s an even bigger one now. And she has this amazing voice. She has a particular aria that has very specific hand period gestures. It’s more body movement than dance. I was working with the English translation and when I got there I saw that they were working with Italian translation so I had to do some thinking on my feet but it all worked out. As for my participation, Mark Lear, Associate Artistic Administrator at HGO, suggested my name.

I am also working with the wardens in Xerxes who are dotted throughout the opera. Michael Walling, the director, wanted a certain style in the way they present themselves, their timing and posture.

DSH: Is there a lot of give and take in the process?

PNM: Yes, especially when working with a principal; nothing can interfere with their voice. If they don’t feel comfortable moving you have to acknowledge that and find a better position of the body.

DSH: Tell us about your work in Queen of Spades. It looks visually stunning from the photos.

PNM: Yes, it will be. There is role for an actor in one scene that I am choreographing. It takes place in a gambling den full of men. It has been done by a dancer in the past, but the director, Roy Rallo, thought it looked too polished and slick. It needs to be more raw, more natural. Matthew Redden is doing the part. He’s originally from Houston. He has to dance with a scarf and high heels, so that’s been a challenge, but he’s getting used to it. It’s something between dancing and acting. Matthew was a joy to work with. I really like how it’s turned out, he’s really making it his own now.

DSH: What do you like about working with opera singers?

PNM: More and more, I find they are so open to movement ideas, it shows how much they care about the whole production. It’s also such a growing experience for me. I like working one-on-one with an artist. It’s been amazing to work with two new directors as well. I have to open myself up to what they want and make that happen. It’s been quite an experience.

DSH: On another subject, you must be excited about the new Center for Dance, which will really expand the work you can do at Houston Ballet.

NPM: For me, it’s a realization of a dream. The national and global attention that this new and prestigious building is bringing goes beyond what I had ever imagined. Yes it will expand the work I will be able to do. It is an expression of how far we have have come. The connection to the Wortham is going to be great too.

DSH: It’s closer to HGO.

NPM: Exactly!

Houston Grand Opera presents Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades from April 16-May 1 and Handel’s Xerxes from April 30-May 2 at Wortham Center. www.houstongrandopera.org

Reprinted from DSH.

Houston Ballet: Swan Lake

Sara Webb and Connor Walsh
Photo by Amitava Sarkar

There’s nothing quite like finding out your girlfriend’s day job is being a swan. Siegfried and Odette, in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake, have the ultimate “it’s complicated” situation, making the trauma of their doomed love the central nexus for his ballet.

Choreographers have been putting their individual stamp on Swan Lake since it premiered at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 1877. The ballet was a notorious flop; still, a long line of choreographers have wanted to dance in their own lake. Houston Ballet is already on their third version. All that said, Welch’s 2006 version, inspired by Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse’s 1888 painting The Lady of Shalott, updates the story, bringing it more into the realm of the fantastic, with surreal settings and glittery costumes by the late Kristian Fredrikson, and highlighting a love affair with a strong emotional center.

Here, our prince meets Odette as a maiden, so there’s a certain rhythm to the various transformations from human to swan back to human. Welch also plays with the structure of the ballet, giving Act I and II some rousing new dancing by the various princesses and the sea of men, known as the prince’s friends, or various guards. There’s some re-conceiving of Rothbart and his band of glamorous hawk-like swans. Rothbart, equal parts reptile, bat and Darth Vader, is one dark villain, so it follows that he should have a gang of sexy black swans in glittery tutus to keep him company.

Whether you like the updates or long for more tradition, the dancing is what keeps you glued to your seat. Sara Webb concludes her stunning season with a riveting performance as Odette/Odile. Her subtle grace bestows Odette with a contemplative edge. Webb takes a demure approach, allowing a tenderness in her relationship to Siegfried. She’s all air in Act I, almost watery in her fluid torso and liquid arms. As Odile, Webb stretches her wings in Black Swan, letting her bravura come out full force. Connor Walsh has grown in maturity since his last Siegfried. He’s more confident, assured, and well, princely. Walsh and Webb also demonstrate a chemistry that has been a few years in the making, giving added heart to their performance.

Other stand outs include Joseph Walsh as one of the Prince’s friends. Walsh has had a great season and is most certainly one to watch. The always elegant Barbara Bears is a portrait of coy restraint as the Princess of Russia. When Bears dances, it’s not only about what she does, but what she withholds. It’s quite magical and never fails to galvanize the audience’s attention. Whether it’s a turn of her chin or the flip of a wrist, she captivates. Jaquel Andrews gives the Princess of Spain an ample dose of flash and sass. Kelly Myernick’s Princess of Hungary emphasizes old world Slavic charm. Emily Bowen’s lively performance as the Princesses of Naples succeeds in its precision and quick-footed vitality. As Rothbart, Nicholas Leschke holds the stage with the presence of a true fantasy villain, creepy and enticing. Even the red-eyed dragon seemed to be more comfortable in his scaly skin.

Fredrickson’s sets and costumes conjure an otherworldly atmosphere. Lacy white trees in Act I tell us we are in a magical realm, while the Art Deco ballroom recalls the paintings of Gustav Klimt. Jewel-toned costumes, rich with iridescent and shimmery fabrics, add yet another striking layer. Houston Ballet ensemble danced with noted precision and authority. Martin West conducted the Houston Ballet Orchestra in a crisp performance.

Reprinted from Houston ArtsWeek.