Review: THE SNOWY DAY at Minnesota Opera

It is almost a religious experience for children of all ages who live in a wintery climate. Awaking to a fresh sheet of snow covering the ground, presenting endless possibilities of what the day will bring. This is perfectly captured in the Minnesota Opera’s newest offering, The Snowy Day. Based on the beloved children’s book of the same name by Ezra Jack Keats, it tells the story of a young boy named Peter who wakes to a winter wonderland just beyond his bedroom window.

Craving the joyous freedoms that await, he hurriedly prepares to embark on an adventure that includes snow angels, snowball fights, sledding, and building snow ladies. While the story is simple and told in just shy of an hour and ten minutes, the MN Opera enchants and delights its audiences with beautiful visuals and soaring vocals.

The real stand out of the production is the score of the opera, composed with heavenly precision by Joel Thompson. His use of each instrument is so perfectly placed and strategically utilized that it dwarfs many modern operas. From the opening notes, the audience is transported into a magical world full of wonder and delight. A recording of just the score should be released because it would be the perfect soundtrack for our own snowy Minnesota days.

While the score overall is top notch, the pacing unfortunately falls flat for an opera. The subject matter, of a snowy day, provides a blank canvas that should be extremely fun and lighthearted. Sadly, the tempo of most of the sung songs throughout the piece, feel too slow and melodic for the themes it attempts to convey vocally. It is understandable that opera seeks to draw different emotions out of it’s audience, than say a musical, but in this case it could have used an infusion of that whimsy and excitement. Overall, the music seemed to suit a ballet more than an opera.

Although the sung melodies may be on the slower side, they are still delivered with full gusto by an extremely talented cast, to well deserved acclaim. Notable company members were Leah Hawkins (Mama) who delivered a stunning solo in the first ten minutes, gaining her thunderous applause; Zulimar Lopez-Hernández (Amy) who provides the “new best friend” trope so perfectly, everyone in the audience would be lucky enough to make her acquaintance; and then there is Raven McMillon (Peter) whose spirit and charm is so infectious.

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