For most of us, the word ‘experimental’ probably provokes images of brass instruments filled with washing-up liquid or electrically manipulated sneezing sounds. But experimental doesn’t have to mean mental: it can simply refer to something original, something done differently. Open Door Opera’s staged song recital Americana was an excellent example of an experimental production in which no faecal matter was thrown, and everyone (just about) kept their clothes on. The resulting experience was one of enriched aesthetic interest, in which the experiment enhanced, rather than inhibited, the music. And in a pub, too.
The King’s Head Theatre’s small stage was bedecked with a baby grand piano, a cello, an old trunk, a newspaper and a broom, which soprano Rebecca Dale grabbed upon entry. Dressed as a cleaner, Dale swept as she sang the spiritual ‘Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen’, arranged by pianist Sarah Latto. Dale’s very beautiful, opera-trained, vibrato-heavy voice was a little much for such a simple, soulful song, especially in this small space. That said, the song’s emotional power was communicated, particularly given its coupling with the timeless task of sweeping the floor. It led seamlessly into the first set of Copland’s Old American Songs, familiar tunes that epitomise old, honest American ways and dreams. Copland’s arrangements are successful in their simplicity, from a country ragtime of The Boatmen’s Dance to the peaceful, one-chord-per-bar plodding of Long Time Ago. Again, the volume level was the only problem: Latto’s accompaniment was on the heavy-handed side. ‘Swing low, sweet chariot’, which followed, was far subtler than when sung at Twickenham, but rousing all the same.
Things got juicier for Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs. The mystery trunk was opened, and out came a cape: a magic cape, which transformed our cleaner into the Hermit. Barber’s music was the most ‘arty’ so far: a heavy ostinato in the piano infused At Saint Patrick’s Purgatory with drama; Church Bell at Night mixed fruity chords with piano fragments; The Heavenly Banquet was an excited wish-list of ingredients required for a feast with God; and lush clashes in the piano featured in the delightful joke song The Monk and his Cat. The Cleaner came to her senses as she was in the process of caressing her imaginary feline friend and realised she was petting household spray. Whipping off the cape, and taking up the broom again, Dale’s earlier assertiveness was transformed into intimate quietness for the folksong ‘O Shenandoah’ and the lullaby ‘All the pretty little horses’. Here Dale showed what was lacking before: sweet softness and sensitivity. Latto’s movement centre stage, strumming a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment, made both songs exquisitely personal and truly moving.