Written by DCist guest contributor Michael Lodico

The Washington National Opera’s production of William Bolcom’s operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller’s earthy play (premiered by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999 and staged by Frank Galati) shows the company’s commitment to remounting new American operas after their premieres. The Chicago production, now being presented to D.C. area audiences by the WNO, also features three leads from the original production and the two arias added by Bolcom for the 2002 Metropolitan Opera premiere. The libretto had heavy input from both Miller and Arnold Weinstein.

Set in the Italian neighborhood of Red Hook (Brooklyn) in the 1950s, A View from the Bridge centers around longshoreman Eddie Carbone (baritone Kim Josephson) and his over-protective and eventually destructive relationship with his adult niece Catherine (Christine Brandes), whom he raised. Her fiancé, Rodolpho (Gregory Turay), one of two cousins of Eddie’s tormented wife Bea (Catherine Malfitano), is just off the boat from Italy. The work opens with a black-and-white projection of the Brooklyn Bridge encompassing the entire stage and the capable chorus singing “sometimes when the tide is right, you smell the Meditarranean air.” Brilliantly, the back wall slides were slowly changed to gently modify the audience’s perspective for each scene. Multiple vantages of the Brooklyn Bridge were first shown, followed by a panorama of the gritty neighborhood from above, and finally a view from the back window of an urban dwelling with laden clotheslines strung between buildings. The set, identical for both acts, incorporates the interior of the Carbones’ modest apartment and space for outdoor scenes. Changing between the two only required a new backdrop and lighting.

Photo of Catherine Malfitano and Kim Josephson in A View from the Bridge by Karin Cooper, Washington National Opera, 2007