Opus opens as a string quartet concert does, with the sound of the ensemble tuning followed by (hopefully) beautiful music. Opus, a play receiving its New England Premier at New Rep, revolves around the Lazara Quartet and delves into the dynamics of the group. The quartet is in search of a new violist to replace Dorian, the virtuoso performer who was asked to leave the ensemble because he “crossed a line.” Grace, a younger performer auditions for the group and is, to her shock, offered the job on the spot. Grace has to decide whether to take the artistically rewarding job with Lazara, or wait in hopes for a stable job with the symphony. This is a choice many musicians must make - to choose from the ability to be one among equals or to go the safe route – join an orchestra, get dental insurance, a retirement plan and as Elliot, the 1st violinist puts it, “spend the rest of your professional life enthralled to a baton.”
Grace joins Lazara and is thrown into the ensemble and all its drama. Interspersed are flashbacks that show us the quartet with Dorian who is always on a course for artistic perfection, even though he realizes that while it will never be perfect, it can be better. Dorian is also Elliot’s lover, an open secret that has now affected the ensemble. When Alan, the 2nd violinists attempts to start some sort of relationship with Grace, he is reminded that such relationships are not good for the ensemble. Carl, the cellist rounds out the ensemble. At first Carl is quiet and just wants to be there to play the music, but we learn that there are other things going on with Carl and the music is a way to deal with other situations.
Jim Petosa assembled and directed a strong cast. Benjamin Evett is a strong Dorian, showing us into both Dorian’s genius as well as his mental instability. Michael Kaye is great as Elliot – giving some diva moments, but also showing Elliot’s depth. Bates Wilder adds nuance to Carl’s character, almost blending into the background in the beginning, but by the end, all eyes are on him. It’s always interesting when actors mime playing instruments on stage – sometimes it can be quite painful to watch, but in this production each actor has great intensity and conveys a passion about playing the music that at the very beginning of the show, had I not noticed they weren’t changing the fingering, I might have thought they were actually playing.
Cristina Todesco’s set was minimal but had some interesting elements to it such as the sheet music theme with sheet music on the floor as well as around the proscenium. The cables on the stage were an interesting touch like strings on an instrument as well as bar lines on a sheet of music.
At the beginning we hoped for beautiful music and we got some of that, but we also got a compelling behind the music look at the people making the music that is true to life, all packaged in 95 minutes of theatre.
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