Jim’s Jottings for November 17, 2017

End of an Era:  It saddens me to report that our dear good friend, Jim Benner, passed away on Veteran’s Day. As many of you know, he was a steadfast friend to OLLI and to ALL before that, teaching over 50 classes about all things opera. He championed the cause of teaching people the art and spectacle of opera, urged us to attend them in Pittsburgh and New York and then at the local cinema when they began the series of Met in HD simulcasts ten years ago. He shared this lifelong love of music with residents at both Heritage Point and at his final home, the Evergreen Assisted Living facility. The main facts of his life and work will be outlined in the obituary when it is published.

For you, I’d like to share some personal memories. 

 When Bonnie and I arrived in Morgantown in 1980, Jimmy (Frances’s endearment for Benner) was only 5 years from retirement, but in that time, I designed several of his opera productions, and we soon became friends. My first production for him was “Tales of Hoffman,” in which his devoted wife, the great Frances Yeend, took part, playing opposite Jon Crane, the faculty tenor. Having the two of them in a production guaranteed an audience to help fill the Concert Theater. I designed a huge set that was tied together by a permanent set of raised platforms that were augmented by decorative pieces that were flown in at the center of it all. I remember taking great pains to paint this huge floor and then learned a key lesson about design for the Concert stage—don’t worry about the stage floor because it’ll all look gray from the seats! I remember that Jon Crane was an infamously nervous actor, but once he got on stage and into the role, he was fine. Frances, as always, was a trouper and we all marveled that she kept her lovely voice in shape well into her 70s.

I also designed a big production of “The Marriage of Figaro,” that we fought about…nicely. He kept seeing the traditional and I was trying to introduce the practical, affordable and “new.” He was finally able to trust me and I returned the favor by trying to make the scenery as beautiful and as near to Mozartian style as possible, all for around $3000 if memory serves.

My third favorite story was from “I Quattro Rustighi,” a piece by Dominic Argento that Jimmy and I both thought was a beautiful opera. It was set in Venice, so we needed a full-stage drop at the back to complement the smaller architectural piece before it. We manage to create a grand piece of Renaissance Italy, but my photos got screwed up so that my archival material looked downright weird, or at least the wrong color.

Along the way, I learned that Jimmy was a very talented pianist and accompanist—that is how he met Frances, after all. He would accompany her or one of the vocal faculty in recitals and travelled a lot to complete coaching sessions with some of the big name singers, including Rene Fleming. Once we started going up to Chautauqua, Jim told me about the dozen years he and Frances would work there in the summer for the Music Conservatory, coaching young singers and helping to prepare (I think) five opera productions. Today they only mount three!

I remember that Jim was very well educated at Cornell and Columbia, but having learned how to learn, he went on to become a premiere vocal coach, director and conductor, giving countless master classes before and after he retired in 1985. He was a founding member of the Appalachian Lifelong Learning program in 1993, which became Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He taught classes there for 20 years.

As for me, I have learned so much from this gentle and stately man. I have known no one else with such a deep and complete knowledge of opera. We will all miss him terribly, but to remember him and honor him, go to as many of the Met in HD presentations as you can and say a little prayer of thanksgiving for this, our dearly-departed friend.

Opera: The next Met Opera in HD will be presented tomorrow, November 18, at 12:55 PM at the Regal Hollywood cinema. It is the new opera by Thomas Ades (“The Tempest”) titled “The Exterminating Angel.” The opera is based on a film made by Luis Bunuel in 1962. The story is about a group of people brought together for a dinner party from which none of them can escape. The New York Times reviewer basically said that if you were to see only one opera this season, this one MUST be it. That’s a pretty definitive endorsement and a rave if ever we’ve heard one. This story and the film that inspired it come from a time when the Theater of the Absurd was still in the ascendant and European director/auteurs were making risk-taking cinema often utilizing bits of the Absurdist or Expressionistic tool box. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but with review like this…maybe? And it will honor Jim Benner’s legacy.

Film Forum: The final offering for the fall series is “A Quiet Passion,” the story of the quietly determined 19^th century poet, Emily Dickinson, beautifully portrayed in this film by Cynthia Nixon (“Sex in the City”) and aided by Jennifer Ehle and with Keith Carradine playing Emily’s forbidding pater familias. Written and directed by the British stalwart of Masterpiece Theatre, Terence Davies. 126 minutes.

“Murder on the Orient Express:”  Even if you have seen one of the earlier versions and think you know who did it, you MUST make every effort to get the one of the local cinemas to see Kenneth Branaugh’s work as actor and director. I thought no one could surpass David Suchet’s Poirot, but I have to admit that Kenny has done it! Watch the awesome camera work and how it contributes to the idea that each character has a double life story…and the incredible scenery captured in 65mm wide screen film.  Wow!

That’s all folks!

Just Jim