ECU composer Taggart recalls unique filmed opera during height of COVID-19 pandemic
Longtime East Carolina University faculty member Mark Taggart had already been baking bread for years when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, but he had not composed an opera specifically for a virtual experience.
ECU School of Music Professor Mark Taggart sits at the piano in his Fletcher Music Center office, with one of his many musical compositions.
“We were all locked away!” said Taggart, a professor of music composition who will retire at the end of this semester, after nearly 40 years at ECU.
Taggart and others in the School of Music originally envisioned “The Dreamer” as a “Zoom opera,” filmed using the video call and conferencing software that quickly became a backbone of both work and play during the height of the pandemic.
However, Taggart said creating this unique piece via Zoom became “too intricate” with technical difficulties, so Alex Davis, the school’s audio services coordinator, helped move away from that to a produced film, released in August 2021.
Davis said they still wanted to capture the feeling of the Zoom experience and the isolation everyone felt during that time. That led to the film layout of characters in isolated boxes.
Ahead of that came the hundreds of hours spent producing the film. The team recorded each player in the ECU Chamber Orchestra, spaced out in the recital hall. Later, the opera vocalists were individually issued mics and headphone audio mixes, also spaced around the recital hall to record their singing.
For the video production, the team constructed a safe, outdoor set in the loading area of the A.J. Fletcher Music Center, home to the School of Music. They filmed each cast and chorus member from three camera angles, with dozens of timing cues bringing them into the 40-minute piece.
The extra miles of production and post-production didn’t diminish anyone’s excitement for “The Dreamer.”
“We did everything within our power and resources to make something meaningful and artistic while keeping everyone safe,” Davis said. “I think we were able to make a beautiful piece.”
Taggart said he and the students agreed.
“The students loved it; I loved it,” Taggart said. “It was hard, because I had to stay away. We were interacting when we could, but I didn’t want students to get sick.
“I loved getting their emails. They were so engaged, even with the obstacles.”
Taggart called “The Dreamer” a concentrated, focused composition, which he created in about three months. By comparison, Taggart’s spring opera this year, “The World Premiere of Gal Young ’Un,” will run 105 minutes.
The Dreamer outreach cast during an audio recording at A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall, with Director Daniel Shirley (at left).
He typically prefers not to teach while he’s composing and that, plus the compressed nature of “The Dreamer,” took a toll.
“It’s damaging to my health,” Taggart said. “I had to recover. It takes a lot out of you.”
In this story, the Dreamer (Christian Powell) is atop a windblown tower, and desperately wishes to climb down to safety. Each time she tries, the Tented Man (Koby Gallman) forces her back. The Dreamer, at first, buys into flattery from the Tented Man, but then bemoans her position; the chorus echoes her.
Then a new voice emerges: the Confidante (Erica Timmerman), who understands the Dreamer’s pain, and tells her that the Tented Man is not as threatening as he seems. The Dreamer tries again to step down from the tower, and the Tented Man fades away. The Confidante, the Dreamer, and the chorus sing of the Dreamer’s coming freedom, as the Dreamer reaches the ground in peace.
“It was about the pandemic,” Taggart concluded.
He talks fondly of the collaboration required to create an opera. For “The Dreamer,” that also included Librettist Ann McCutchan; Director Daniel Shirley, assistant professor of vocal studies; Music Director Chris Buddo, interim provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs; and Costume and Mask Designer Jeffery Phipps, professor emeritus for the School of Theatre and Dance.
“Because we would see the characters’ faces, and not acting, Jeffery Phipps made some incredible masks,” Taggart said. “Since it was just their faces, we used masks to portray mood.”
Viewers will notice the characters’ masks change throughout the 40 minutes, reflecting those mood changes.
“The communication went so wonderfully,” Taggart said. “I was confident to let them do their thing. You trust, you listen. The collaboration is where the magic is.”