Review: David T. Little's Chilling Opera SOLDIER SONGS Is Reinvented for Opera Philadelphia Film

When I interviewed David T. Little several years ago, he told me he told me that he "didn't even realize [SOLDIER SONGS] was an opera until [opera entrepreneur] Beth Morrison clued him in." He probably didn't realize it was a film either, until Singer-Director Johnathan McCullough brought him the idea--and Opera Philadelphia raised the funds to make it over for its new opera channel, operaphila.tv. It has been produced as a cinematic piece rather than as a filmed staged version, with surprising dexterity. The results are painfully spectacular.

With its one-man cast--here, baritone McCullough--the opera, with Little's own libretto, has been much performed. It combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused concert music and videography. In the most classical, aria-like scene, McCullough sings, with bravado, "I want to be a real American hero, I want to be just like my toy soldiers, killing bad guys with funny names..." Percussion plays a significant role in the score, not only fitting the subject but also Little's background: He's played music since he was eight, in the fife and drum corps in Hackettstown, NJ and later in rock bands.

But the opera is more than its haunting score, tautly conducted by the company's Music Director Corrado Rovaris leading the ensemble of seven musicians. Little has always been interested in strong narratives--and there are stories aplenty here that he used to create the libretto.

In turn, it was the basis of the screenplay by James Darrah and McCullough. It begins with a collage of soldiers talking about what it's like to be at war--the experiences that scar you for life. Real stories move in and out in the opera, as soldiers explain, for example, how many veterans will only talk about their experiences with other veterans, with people who have been there.

Or what a "scary proposition" war is because it's about killing or knowing what they have to do with the gun in their hands. Or, as one soldier puts it, "There's so much in my head it's hard to remember, you know, and some of it you don't want to remember..."

"This production really started with Johnathan; he approached me with the idea," Little reported in the company's press release. "He said 'I have this idea for a SOLDIER SONGS production that lives in an Airstream' ... then when the pandemic happened and programming had to get shifted around, Opera Philadelphia got involved..."

The opera was filmed on location at the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art's Birmingham Hill Preserve. McCullough, who makes his directorial debut with the piece, not only uses the setting skillfully but brilliantly lets the audience, as he said himself, "into the character's shoes right alongside him."

SOLDIER SONGS will be available on-demand through May 31, 2021. It can be viewed with a $99 season pass for the Opera Philadelphia season or as a seven-day rental for $25. Learn more at operaphila.tv. A free program produced as part of the "Reflection & Re-vision" series will accompany the film on the Opera Philadelphia Channel and feature interviews with veterans.

The opera was produced by James Darrah and John Toia, with executive producers David B. Devan and David Levy. Post-production on the film was by FreshFly, with Anderson Nunnelley as associate producer and audio mixing by Lewis Pesacov. Vic Carreno was editor and Phil Bradshaw the director of photography.

The musical ensemble includes Meichen Liao-Barnes (violin), Branson Yeast (cello), Bart Feller (flute), Sara Han (clarinet), with Thomas Blanchard and David Nelson (percussion) and Grant Loehnig (piano).

The work is based on and features interviews with Justen Bennett (US Army), Amber Ferenz (US Army), Richard Girardin (US Marine Corps), Gene Little (US Army), Joseph W. Little (US Army) and Eugene F. Woznicki (US Air Force).

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