In the opening moments of The Raven, director-adaptor Ellen Stewart's family-friendly fusion of an Italian fairy tale with Beijing opera, three large projection screens depict a computer-animated stormy sea. As a Chinese junk comes closer, an ensemble swiftly shuttles platforms and flats onto La MaMa's deep stage. A white sail descends as the ship is assembled on stage in a crafty bit of theatre sorcery, the sailboat magically seeming to leap off the screen and onto the stage.
In fact, The Raven is filled with these moments of theatrical magic, which is appropriate considering its source materials. Based on Carlo Gozzi's 18th-century fairy tale about a king cursed for errantly shooting a crow, Stewart's opera transports the tale to imperial China. Adding an original score evoking traditional Chinese folk music (with the text sung in both English and Mandarin), The Raven adopts a distinctly presentational style. Acutely borrowing key elements of Beijing opera -- such as gestural choreography, pantomime, and traditional fan and ribbon dances -- and combining them with puppetry and mask work, Stewart's cross-cultural opera relies on actor-driven theatricality.
Unfortunately, that's where The Raven stumbles. The large and uneven cast simply can't live up to the high expectations of Stewart's material, as too many performers falter vocally or physically in the execution of the demanding score or rigorous choreography. Furthermore, there is an awkwardness and uncertainty that pervades the performances, perhaps stemming from The Raven's ambiguous tone -- is it reconstructing Beijing opera or simply referencing it (and, if so, why)?
These shortcomings prevent The Raven from coming off as a fully cohesive work. Still, Stewart manages to adeptly weave moments of simple theatricality with her rich score and elaborate costumes (designed by Stewart with Lu Yu). So, while The Raven may ultimately prove unsatisfying, Stewart proves she still has plenty of multicultural tricks up her sleeve.
Presented by and at La MaMa E.T.C.,
74A E. Fourth St., NYC.
June 15-29. Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m. (Additional performance Wed., Jun. 25, 7:30 p.m.)
(212) 475-7710 or (212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111 or www.theatermania.com or www.lamama.org.