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''Grounded'' is an English-language opera in two acts with music by
Jeanine Tesori Jeanine Tesori, known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson, (born November 10, 1961) is an American composer and Arrangement, musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical com ...
and
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by
George Brant George Brant is an American playwright. Born in Park Ridge, Illinois, he is the author of several award-winning plays, most notably ''Grounded''. Career Brant completed his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University and received his Mast ...
. The libretto is adapted from Brant's play of the same name. The opera features a pilot, Jess, and shows her struggle to adapt to
drone warfare Drone warfare is a form of warfare using military drones or military robots. The robots may be remote controlled or have varying levels of autonomy during their mission. Types of robots include unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weapon ...
. The opera premiered at the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
in 2023 to mixed reviews. Emily D'Angelo was praised for her role as the lead character, and Tesori's score was generally well received. The way in which the opera dealt with the theme of drone warfare was generally criticized by reviewers, who suggested it did not have a clear anti-war theme. A second production with a shorter runtime followed in 2024 at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
, and met mixed-to-negative critical reception. Critics were unanimous in praising D'Angelo, but found the array of minor characters distracted from the drama. There were mixed opinions on the score, with some finding it still dragged despite cuts.


Background

The opera originated as a
stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...
by George Brant. The play, also called ''Grounded'', premiered at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
in 2013, then became internationally popular. One New York production, at
The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
, starred
Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...
and was directed by
Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...
. The play is a one-woman show in which the character is unnamed. In 2014, the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
had contracted Jeanine Tesori to compose new work but had not agreed on a suitable subject, until the Met's
dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...
, Paul Cremo, attended a performance of Brant's play at New York's tiny Walkerspace Theater. Cremo then emailed Brant, saying "he heard an aria pulsing throughout it" and thought it could be produced as an opera. In 2018, Tesori's adaptation of ''Grounded'' was announced, alongside Missy Mazzoli's ''Lincoln in the Bardo'', as the first two operas by women commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. Brant was asked to adapt his play into the libretto for the opera, though he had not worked on an opera before. Tesori's previous operas include her 2019 work ''
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
''. Outside of opera, she is an experienced composer of musical theatre, including ''
Shrek the Musical ''Shrek the Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: ''Shrek 2'', '' Shrek Forever After' ...
'' and the Tony Award-winning musicals ''
Fun Home ''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip '' Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, ...
'' and ''
Kimberly Akimbo ''Kimberly Akimbo'' is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. Its title character is a lonely teenage girl suffering from a disease similar to progeria, that causes her to age four and a half times as fast as normal, thus trapping her ...
''. On the announcement of the production by Washington National Opera, the opera's 'presenting sponsor' was listed as
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...
, an
aerospace manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of Aircraft design process, designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a hi ...
and
defense contractor A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and ...
. The opera's fictional lead character is said to have a background as an
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
pilot, an aircraft developed by General Dynamics. After extensive criticism, Washington National Opera changed the webpage to list General Dynamics as a 'season sponsor', and also rewrote the opera's promotional text. Despite this, General Dynamics were thanked alongside other sponsors on stage before the premiere performance at the Kennedy Center. In moving the opera from its 2023 premiere in Washington to its 2024 New York premiere, Tesori and Brant collaborated on substantial revisions, cutting approximately 45 minutes of material.


Roles


Synopsis

The opera features the story of an American
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
pilot who, while on leave, has a brief relationship with a rancher from Wyoming and is later grounded due to pregnancy. During her grounding, she controls Reaper drones from a base near
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, attacking distant targets. As a result of the drone warfare, her mental health suffers, and she is imprisoned after intentionally crashing a drone.


Act One

Jess, a
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
fighter pilot in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
, is both an accomplished pilot and also the only woman in her squadron. While on leave from combat in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, she meets the rancher Eric. They sleep together and fall in love before Jess returns to duty – and discovers she is pregnant. Jess can either keep the baby or keep flying. Despite appeals from her Commander that she is invaluable to the squadron, she accepts the status DNIF, or "Duty Not Including Flying", and she and Eric soon welcome their daughter, Sam. Five years pass. Longing for the sky, Jess returns to her Commander, who, instead of sending her back to her beloved F-16, assigns her to pilot drones remotely, from a trailer near Las Vegas. Jess protests. But the Commander counters that since operators work 12-hour shifts and return to their families each night, Jess will get "war with all the benefits of home". She, Eric and Sam move to Las Vegas. In the trailer, Jess adjusts to her new team: the Sensor, a teenage, former gaming champion who controls the drone's cameras; the
Kill Chain Kill Chain may refer to: * Kill chain, a military concept about structured attacks, and later cyber attacks * "Kill Chain", an episode of the television series ''NCIS'' * ''Kill Chain'' (film), a 2019 film starring Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim ...
, a chain of command that, via headset, assigns missions and approves strikes; and two stoic Observers. Initial tedium gives way to unexpected adrenaline rushes as Jess launches strikes. Meanwhile, Eric gets a job as a blackjack dealer. Jess begins encountering an eerie Drone Squadron and a second, dissociated version of herself.


Act Two

Jess and Sam are in the mall, surrounded by the free-sample-wielding Mall Squadron. In the dressing room, Jess fixates on who might be watching them through the mirror or security cameras on the wall – and suddenly she is back in the trailer, only this time, her screen shows dying American soldiers. Noting her mounting distress, Eric encourages her to "clap off the game", a gesture he uses at the casino when clocking out. On the one-year anniversary of Jess' arrival in the trailer, the Commander assigns her a high-profile mission: track the car suspected to hold target number two on the kill list, and once he steps out and is identified, strike. Jess' relentless pursuit of her target and the intense strain of the mission blur the already faint lines between war and her personal life; she believes a sleeping Sam to be dead, refuses to take off her
flight suit A flight suit is a full-body garment, worn while flying aircraft such as military airplanes, Glider (aircraft), gliders and helicopters. These suits are generally made to keep the wearer warm, as well as being practical (plenty of pockets), and ...
after work, and mentally splits into herself and a split personality named "Also Jess" during sex with Eric. Finally, Jess tracks her target to his home – but he does not leave the car. As he drives off, a girl runs from the house, and the target springs from his car, waving her away: a positive identification. The Kill Chain orders the strike. But Jess, seeing Sam in the girl's place, intentionally crashes a Reaper drone. Her efforts are futile, however, as a backup pilot eliminates the target, much to Jess' horror. She is prosecuted and imprisoned after a court martial.


Performance history and reception


2023 Kennedy Center production

The opera premiered at the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
on October 28, 2023, in a co-production of
Washington National Opera Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...
and the Metropolitan Opera.
Zachary Woolfe Zachary Woolfe is an American music critic who specializes in classical music. Since 2022 he has been chief classical music critic for ''The New York Times''. Education and career As a teenager in the 1990s, Woolfe discovered the online oper ...
of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised Emily D'Angelo in the lead role as the pilot Jess as "perfectly cast", though he also wrote there was a lack of chemistry between her and her onstage husband Eric, performed by an "affable" Joseph Dennis. Woolfe went on to compare the opera unfavourably with Tesori's previous opera, ''Blue''. He also disagreed with Peter Gelb's assertion that ''Grounded'' is "an antiwar opera", instead stating "the piece seems to say that war is OK; there are just better and worsemore and less authenticways of waging it." In a review for the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Michael Brodeur praised the "surprising delicacy and daring" of Tesori's score and the individual performances of the singers, but criticized elements of the adaption of Brant's play. He questioned the expansion of the cast, feeling that other than the central character, "everyone feels optional". Brodeur too did not feel that ''Grounded'' could be called an anti-war opera, stating that for periods of the opera, representations of the drones "border on garish advertisement". He also felt that the character Jess was weaker than the Pilot of the original play. Brodeur stated that the production failed to humanize the victims of drone warfare "until the last possible moment" and overall, the opera felt "like a miss". Writing in the ''Washington Classical Review'', Charles T. Downey called Tesori's music "disappointingly thin and lackluster", with the exception of the male chorus. Downey praised Emily D'Angelo as "radiant", and also drew positive attention to Willa Cook as Jess's young daughter Sam. He described Morris Robinson as "stentorian" in his performance as the Commander. Deriding the fact that the opera contains an aria about the making of a PowerPoint presentation, Downey stated that both acts "dragged". Kate Wingfield was more positive in her four-star review for ''
Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, intervi ...
'', stating that, despite issues with the adaption and libretto, "the production is driven by a wonderfully cohesive cast". Wingfield drew out Morris Robinson for special praise as an "utterly convincing presence". In a review for
BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...
, David Friscic was appreciative of Tesori's music, calling it "alternately sweeping, plaintive, elegiac, whimsical, satiric, mocking, poetic or emphatic". Friscic praised the sensitivity of Daniela Candillari as conductor, and was complimentary of the support cast, staging, and lighting. Friscic reserved the highest praise for lead Emily D'Angelo, referring to her "breathtaking vocal control and tone". His assessment of the opera overall was as "ground-breaking" though he stated that the audience's reaction would be "a matter of taste and aesthetics".


2024 Metropolitan Opera production

45 minutes of the original 2 hour 25 minute run time was cut for the 2024 Metropolitan Opera production, which opened the season at the Met. Brant and Tesori skipped the last performance of the 2023 production in order to begin edits. The changes were made in a direct fashion, with Tesori saying " I just went to the score and went 'rip'". The Metropolitan Opera production met with mixed-to-negative reviews. Zachary Wolfe of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' saying that the opera does not "risk anything, musically or politically". Wolfe was positive about D'Angelo's performance, saying that she "would have been able to anchor a wilder piece". Wolfe also complimented Ben Bliss in the recast part of Eric, saying that Eric had become "closer to being a meaningful role". Wolfe felt, however, that the supporting characters were superfluous, saying "The piece hasn’t really shaken its origins as a solo". Wolfe also decried the musical depth and intensity as "sorely lacking". ''Page Six'' of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' reported that Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera's director, criticised Woolfe's review at a private function. Gelb claimed that there was an "agenda" against any opera that "smacks of accessibility". Writing in OperaWire, critic David Salazar found the libretto uninspiring and lacking depth, though he was positive about the use of repetition. He felt that the identity of the opera was undermined by poorly timed humorous lines, writing that the opera featured: "solid buildups that are immediately undercut by ridicule". He was unsure whether the text was "intentionally toying with itself or simply lacking the means to express something deeper or more potent". He also criticised the pacing and the overall effect of the opera as a drama. However, Salazar was very positive on Emily D'Angelo's lead performance as Jess, saying that she had "salvaged" a "frustrating experience". He commented that she should get more opportunities to perform lead roles at the Metropolitan Opera. Salazar was also mostly complimentary about Tesori's score. In ''
Bachtrack ''Bachtrack'' is a London-based international online music magazine which publishes listings of classical music, opera, ballet and dance, as well as reviews of these genres, interviews and general feature articles. History Bachtrack Ltd was r ...
'', Kevin W Ng commented in his two star review that the Met's orchestra and chorus were "on peak form", but felt that the score was "unmemorable at best", and that it "drags". He also wrote that the production's "pleasantness" was at odds with the themes. Ng felt that the "sheer American jingoism of the piece" was "grating", commenting on lines such as "Boom goes Baghdad" in the context of the original production's sponsorship by General Dynamics. Ng also found fault with the "bevy of minor characters also distract from the central drama", though he found baritone debutants Kyle Miller and Timothy Murray impressive in "resonant tone" and "crystal diction". He found Ben Bliss "exquisite" as Eric and Ellie Dehn "luscious and radiant" as Jess' alter ego. Ng saved his highest praise for D'Angelo, saying "It’s worth seeing for D’Angelo alone – if only she had a vehicle worthy of her talents".


References


External links


Jeanine Tesori becomes first woman composer to open Met Opera season with reworked "Grounded"
AP September 2, 2024 {{Authority control 2023 operas Aviation operas Drone warfare English-language operas Fiction about mental health General Dynamics Operas Operas based on plays Operas by Jeanine Tesori Operas set in the 21st century Operas set in the United States Operas based on works by American writers Works about the United States Air Force Works about women in war