Liverpool Oratorio

Cincinnati Opera presented the world premiere staging of Paul McCartney’s 1991 “Liverpool Oratorio” over four performances in July 2024 (on July 18, 20, 21 and 27).

Directed by Caroline Clegg and conducted by Joseph Young, the production featured the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet, and Cincinnati Boychoir.

While Paul himself didn’t attend, he sent a special video message to audiences before each performance.

From Review: Music Hall stages world premiere of Paul McCartney’s opera (cincinnati.com), July 19, 2024:

Sir Paul McCartney was not at Music Hall to see the fully staged production of his “Liverpool Oratorio.”

For weeks, Cincinnati Opera had encouraged its friends and patrons to let McCartney know how much Cincinnati would love to have him pop in and visit with us. But it wasn’t meant to be.

McCartney did send a recorded message, though, making his apologies for being unable to join us.

“I love the piece,” he said at one point, “and I love that you’re doing it in Cincinnati. So I hope you have a great evening. Thank you very much for putting it on.”

Admittedly, McCartney’s visit had been a long shot. But the message he sent was a thoughtful one. And in the end, we were at Music Hall to hear and see the show itself. […]

What sets the Cincinnati performances apart from other presentations is that instead of presenting the music in its original oratorio form – basically, an unstaged concert presentation – Cincinnati Opera transformed the work into a fully staged opera.

The result? Decidedly mixed.

Mind you, there is a good deal to like about this production. Leslie Travers’ set designs manage to be both monumental and intimate. The entire stage is draped with an enormous map of 1942 Liverpool with its skyline – often in postwar tatters – drifting in and out of the background. But the various scenes are played out in smaller spaces in the foreground – a tiny childhood home, a crowded office, an orderly classroom.

McCartney’s music is often tuneful, though not in a pop-music sense. In his pop songs, he had to think of 3-minute musical arcs. And he was a master with them. Here, though, scenes are longer and, ideally, more probing. It doesn’t always work out that way, though, as McCartney’s lyrics are sometimes painfully flimsy. But then, opera has rarely been known for its enlightened lyrics.

The work is built around four principal singers. And they are among the production’s greatest assets – tenor Andrew Owens as Shanty, McCartney’s alter ego, Jacqueline Echols McCarley as Mary Dee, Shanty’s great love, and Kevin Short in a trio of significant roles. Most intriguing of the group is Kayleigh Decker, whose acting is as compelling and character-filled as her vocal prowess.

The subject matter may be built around one man’s bumpy journey through life, but the production itself is enormous, involving not just the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, but also a 45-voice chorus, and 18 members of the Cincinnati Boychoir.

There is also a small ensemble of dancers from Cincinnati Ballet intended to add a dramatic underscoring to many of the scenes. The dancers are wonderful, especially Simone Muhammad and Marcus Romeo. If only the group weren’t so limited by Michael Pappalardo’s unimaginative and simplistic choreography. The dancers and the production deserve better.

Early on in the production’s planning stages, someone – I can’t remember who – said the music was crying out to be staged as an opera. Having seen it onstage, I’m not sure that was right.

The transition from oratorio to full-fledged opera hasn’t been a smooth one. An opera has greater dramatic demands than an oratorio. An oratorio, by definition, is immobile. And opera? Not so at all. The change in format calls for tweaking.

In its life as an oratorio, the pace of McCartney’s storytelling wasn’t so much of an issue. But as an opera, the story needs more dramatic verve. Since the creators chose not to make revisions, it was left to stage director Caroline Clegg to smooth over those dramatic shortcomings.

Unfortunately, she hasn’t managed that. As a result, this production of “Liverpool Oratorio” is visually striking, but dramatically static. It just needs more life on the stage.

Will that happen? Could McCartney be coaxed to return to this work more than 30 years after composing it to revise and reshape it? Hard to say. I wouldn’t bet on it. But this story has good dramatic bones. It would be fascinating to see what an older and more mature McCartney would do to turn it into a more effective theatrical experience.

From Review: Music Hall stages world premiere of Paul McCartney’s opera (cincinnati.com), July 19, 2024

From Liverpool Oratorio — Cincinnati Opera:

PAUL MCCARTNEY’S
LIVERPOOL ORATORIO

JULY 18 & 20, 2024 | 7:30 PM
JULY 21 & 27, 2024 | 3:00 PM
MUSIC HALL • SPRINGER AUDITORIUM

Music and libretto by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis

Sung in English with projected lyrics

FOR THE WHOLE WERE WE BORN.

Memories from Paul McCartney’s life in Liverpool England inspire chapters on growing up and finding our way. Beginning with Latin which means, “not for ourselves, but for the whole were we born,” the piece explores formative moments, relationships, and the responsibilities we face. See the world premiere opera adaptation of McCartney’s acclaimed work for orchestra and voices, a powerful story full of heartfelt lyrics and effortless melodies.

Cincinnati Music Hall, Springer Auditorium

This was the 4th concert played at Cincinnati Music Hall, Springer Auditorium.

A total of 4 concerts have been played there • 2024 • Jul 18 • Jul 20 • Jul 21 • Jul 27

Setlist for the concert

1. War

1. Andante (Orchestra)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'Non Nobis Solum'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. 'The Air Raid Siren Slices Through...' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Oh Will It All End Here?' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. 'Mother and Father Holding Their Child'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. School

1. 'We're Here in School Today to Get a Perfect Education'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'Walk in Single File Out of the Classroom' (Headmaster)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. 'Settle Down'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Kept in Confusion' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. 'I'll Always Be Here' (Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

6. 'Boys, This Is Your Teacher' (Headmaster, Miss Inkley)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

7. 'Tres Conejos' (Miss Inkley, Headmaster, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

8. 'Not for Ourselves' (Headmaster, Miss Inkley, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. Crypt

1. 'And So It Was That I Had Grown' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. Dance

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. 'I Used to Come Here When This Place Was a Crypt' (Shanty, Preacher)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Here Now' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. 'I'll Always Be Here' (Mary Dee, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

6. 'Now's the Time to Tell Him' (Mary Dee, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. Father

1. Andante Lamentoso

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'O Father, You Have Given...' (Chief Mourner)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. '(Ah)'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Hey, Wait a Minute' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. 'Father, Father, Father' (Shanty, Chief Mourner)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. Wedding

1. Andante Amoroso - 'I Know I Should Be Glad of This' (Shanty, Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'Father, Hear Our Humble Voices' (Preacher)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. 'Hosanna, Hosanna' (Mary Dee, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

6. Work

1. Allegro Energico

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'Working Women at the Top' (Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. Violin Solo

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Did I Sign the Letter...' (Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. Tempo I

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

6. 'When You Ask a Working Man' (Shanty, Mr. Dingle)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

7. 'Let's Find Ourselves a Little Hostelry' (Mr. Dingle)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

7. Crises

1. Allegro Molto

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'The World You're Coming Into' (Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. Tempo I

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Where's My Dinner?' (Shanty, Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. 'Let's Not Argue' (Shanty, Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

6. 'I'm Not a Slave' (Mary Dee, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

7. 'Right! That's It!' (Mary Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

8. 'Stop. Wait.'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

9. 'Do You Know Who You Are...' (Nurse)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

10. 'Ghosts of the Past Left Behind' (Nurse, Shanty, Mary Dee)

    Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

11. 'Do We Live in a World...' (Mary Dee, Nurse, Shanty)

    Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

8. Peace

1. 'And So It Was That You Were Born' (Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

2. 'God Is Good'

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

3. 'What People Want Is a Family Life' (Preacher)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

4. 'Dad's in the Garden' (Nurse, Mary Dee, Preachey Dee)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

5. 'So on and on the Story Goes' (Mary Dee, Shanty)

   Written by Paul McCartney, Carl Davis

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