BANFF.

Siren Song, by composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Nick Dear, received its North American premiere at the Banff Summer Arts Festival Jul. 16. Based on a true story, the chamber opera takes the audience on a heart-wrenching journey with a lonely English sailor who answers an ad in a personal column and falls in love with his correspondent, Diana. He longs to meet her in person, but she says she's too busy to meet or phone, so she exists for the young sailor, Davie, only through correspondence and as he embellishes her in his imagination. In the brief hour or so of this opera, many of the complexities of real life are only hinted at, but the multilayered music and orchestrations help fill in the blanks. Dove displays his mastery of revealing secret thoughts through music. One such instance occurs while Davie (tenor Michael Marino) poignantly sings "Dear Diana" accompanied by the undercurrent of a deep-toned percussive beat that reveals his desperation and his impending emotional peril.

Although written for a small theatre, the orchestra at times overwhelmed Dear's elegantly economical text, whether as a result of the orchestration, conducting (Henk Guittart) or the acoustics of Banff's Rolston Recital Hall--or perhaps a combination of all three. Nonetheless, Diana (soprano Jana Miller) was able to sing her letter from a side aisle while her silhouette moved coyly in projection on the interior of Davie's ship as he read it. When Diana wants to know his secret thoughts, Davie panics, but her wish is his command--including a joint bank account to save for the future.

Davie does finally arrange a phone call with Diana, but ends up talking to her supposed brother, Jonathan (baritone Brent Calis). Vulnerable Davie turns to Jonathan to teach him about women, and meets him face to face in Singapore when Jonathan turns up instead of Diana. In the end, of course, Jonathan turns out to have conned Davie all along. The young cast made a convincing case for the piece, especially Marino, whose naive appearance underscored his authentic assumption of Davie.