Opera Omaha celebrates Midwestern spirit with the world premiere of "The Blizzard Voices"

By Kelly Blice

Opera Omaha continues its 50th anniversary celebration and kicks off its 2008–2009 season with a series of community events and the world premiere performances of “The Blizzard Voices.” Composed by Pulitzer-prize winning composer Paul Moravec, “The Blizzard Voices” is based on poetry of another Pulitzer winner, former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, and tells the story of the January 1888 Children’s Blizzard. While recent storms remind us of the devastating power of weather, the more powerful story is about the community that survives and comes together. Community events, including poetry readings and musical events, a clothing drive and an exhibit about blizzards surround the premiere performances and celebrate the ties that bind us together.

Over two years in the making, “The Blizzard Voices” is the result of the creative talents of Kooser and Moravec and the inspired artistic vision of Stewart Robertson. During the initial concept stages, Maestro Robertson desired not only to produce a work of great literary and musical significance but to present the work in a physical format that most powerfully expressed the subject matter. To this end, this project will be presented in a concert hall setting rather than an opera house where the chorus, orchestra and soloists are onstage and represent the larger environment in which the tragic events unfold. Large screens will be utilized to project images by Omaha artist Watie White of the events and the power of the climatic conditions. The September 12 performance will be held at the Holland Performing Arts Center’s Kiewit Concert Hall with a second performance on September 13 at the Arts Center on the Iowa Western Community College campus.

The blizzard that ripped through the Midwest is often referred to as “the children’s blizzard” because so many school children were killed trying to make their way home when the blizzard hit unexpectedly in the middle of the day on January 12, 1888. For his original book of poems, Kooser researched historical documents about the disaster and wrote each poem as a different “voice” telling his or her personal story about the blizzard that destroyed lives and property. Moravec worked closely with Kooser and has visited some of the actual locations depicted in the poems.

During the development of the score, Moravec and Kooser discussed a previous version of “The Blizzard Voices” that was performed as a play. In that version, Kooser had added skip-rope rhymes for dramatic and tonal shifts between “stories” and to represent the children. Moravec has kept that structure and incorporated the rhymes into the oratorio, which will separate poem-stories sung by the soloists. Intrigued by stories of how the various immigrant groups settling the Midwest overcame language and cultural differences in the aftermath of the storm, Moravec uses the chorus to represent the entire community and the voice of some of the poems, which he feels are broadly representative of many individuals’ plights. The chorus is also used to evoke the sound of the wind, as it was this force of nature that caused the storm to be so deadly and terrifying. It is the composer’s intention to musically depict the drama of the rapid drop in temperature—18 degrees within three minutes—and the unpredictability of the event. Kooser’s original structure, and Moravec’s blending of solo voices, children’s voices, chorus and atmosphere will combine to create a theatrical story.

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