The story might be the stuff of a great opera, but it is not the one the composer Anthony Davis tells in “Wakonda’s Dream,” which was given its premiere by Opera Omaha at the Orpheum Theater here on Wednesday night. Had Mr. Davis, who is known for dealing with issues of civil rights in his operas, chosen to adapt the saga of Chief Standing Bear, the results might have echoed “Amistad,” his previous opera, which also centered on a famous trial.
Instead, in “Wakonda’s Dream” Mr. Davis and his librettist, the poet Yusef Komunyakaa, use Standing Bear as a visionary presence and an emblem for the troubled lives and strained relationships of a modern Ponca family. The first act introduces Justin and Delores Labelle and their young son, Jason.
While the boy and his friends play cowboys and Indians, Justin, a mechanic, slyly overcharges a white neighbor, an action that he claims is justified by what white men have historically stolen from Indians. Jason has visions of Standing Bear and watches as the chief’s son dies in his arms during the arduous trek south.
Act II, set 10 years later, deals with Jason’s growing alienation from his father, who has become a bitter drunk obsessed with an illusory coyote. Standing Bear counsels Jason that the source of his father’s problems is his rejection of tribal identity, and that only if the father conquers his demons — represented by the coyote — can he be saved. Jason, dressed in traditional coyote garb, confronts his father, with results a Greek tragedian might have conceived.
Despite the looming weight of history depicted through the presence of Standing Bear and the Ponca tribe, onstage at all times, “Wakonda’s Dream” emerges as Mr. Davis’s most intimate, human-scaled opera. He retains a penchant for angular lines of exposition, but here they are broken up by lyric passages that sometimes achieve a ravishing beauty, as in a first-act duet by Justin and Delores, set to music of shimmering iridescence. (That moment is reprised to heartbreaking effect in the second act.) Mr. Davis’s music offers elements of Impressionism, Copland’s pastoral mode and the sophisticated instrumental voicings of Duke Ellington and Oliver Nelson.
Mr. Komunyakaa’s words sing well, his poetic texts providing depth to the passions and struggles of these nuanced, three-dimensional characters. The pacing isn’t ideal: after a brisk first act, much of the second is given over to lengthy soliloquies. A booming hip-hop number that opens the second act fell flat at this performance, more because of poor coordination among cast members than because of any intrinsic flaw.
As Justin, the veteran baritone Eugene Perry was outstanding, suggesting vulnerability even when the character blustered. Phyllis Pancella, a mezzo-soprano, was a steadfast, deeply moving Delores. Two tenors — William Ferguson as the grown Jason, and Arnold Rawls as Standing Bear — sang powerfully, although each occasionally succumbed to a stock overemoting better suited to Italian verismo. Jonah Davis, the composer’s 9-year-old son, offered an alert portrayal of the young Jason.
Rhoda Levine, the director, places the entire opera on a single set designed by Peter Harrison: a dusty, raked platform strewn with stacked tires, wooden crates and tree stumps. Hanay Geiogamah’s choreography, performed by Mr. Ferguson and members of the American Indian Dance Theater, is spare and eloquent.
Of the various electronic interjections fashioned by Earl Howard, the most ingenious is an extraordinary prelude in which the sound of wind, birds and coyotes segues seamlessly into unseen choral voices. Stewart Robertson, the conductor, expertly balanced orchestral musicians, improvisers and electronic elements in this rich, effective work.
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