Jason Bray / Anmeldelser

“The Long Walk” refers to a soldier’s walk towards a live explosion, as well as his psychological journey home after the war. The two-act opera is based on Iraq war veteran Brian Castner’s written account of his time in the military’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit and his tortured reintegration into civilian and family life. Mr. Beck’s score is taut and energetic, cuing the audience between Iraq flashbacks and suburban life in Buffalo, N.Y., with simple but effective instrumental gestures. Electric guitars conjure a gritty desert feel, while slide whistles often accompany the Castner’s three rambunctious boy children’s mischief, etc. Balance between the small orchestra and onstage action was mostly good, but at times the orchestra was a bit loud and obscured the singers. This was most noticeable in Mr. Taylor’s opening minutes and whenever the trio of his three sons sang. Sets and stage direction also proved stellar, with set designer Katy Fetrow’s minimalist nods to the opera’s 15 different locales set starkly against a sandy backdrop with a monolithic, spiraling concrete structure that suggested a “bunker” or perhaps “nose cone.” Resident artist Frances Rabalais’ stage direction kept the mayhem crystal clear, propelling the piece with a sense of narrative momentum and intermittent moments of pathos despite the jumbled, fractured nature of Mr. Castner’s writings and the libretto adaptation. The most poignant scene featured Mr. Taylor helping his son with hockey pads while his EOD brothers dress one of their own in 80 pounds of Kevlar for the long walk, taken only “for your brother, for your brother’s children, for your brother’s children’s children.” Other vocal highlights included resident artist Shannon Jennings as Mr. Castner’s psychologist, singing of blast-induced neurotrauma with an effortless, natural authority and granting the opera a rare moment of catharsis. Adrianna Cleveland’s lament was raw, infused with passion, and the strident confidence of the male EOD quartet in the first act was pure swagger distilled into aria form. Pittsburgh Opera’s production, the third-ever staging of the show, makes for an entirely uncomfortable but equally moving experience.

The opening set piece is a film montage that sets up the premise of a shipwreck and rescue set to Mozart’s overture. The cinematography is handsomely stylized, but having the vocalists appear onstage to interact with the projection was distracting and unnecessary. The orchestra, conducted by Glenn Lewis, delivered the overture with an almost perfunctory air. Throughout the work, there were consistent intonation problems, balance issues in chords and an uncharacteristic lack of precision and grace. After the overture, the canvas screen lifted and resettled on stage in the shape of a canvas tent surrounded by orange life preservers, presumably to evoke a refugee camp. Soprano Ashley Fabian (Ilia, last surviving member of her Trojan family) opened with a voice that sounded small at first but warmed and became more expressive over the course of the evening. Tenor Terrence Chin-Loy (Idomeneo) was a convincingly distraught and displaced king of Crete. Mezzo-soprano Antonia Botti-Lodovico (Idamente, in a pants role) looked and sounded every bit the spurned prince, and soprano Caitlin Gotimer (Elletra) shone in her finale as she suffers a jealous breakdown. This transformed production uses lyrics from the original libretto, stitched together to create a new tale. It’s an awkward fit, with character motivations simplified to the point of parody and plot developments that feel like they’re appearing out of left field. Still, the vocals were strong. All four cast members belong to Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist program, one of the premiere training programs for developing opera singers. Mr. Chin-Loy and Ms. Gotimer were especially powerful, their solo and ensemble work alike fizzing with tension and nuance. Ms. Botti-Lodovico was superb, increasingly desperate and wild, as her character is repeatedly rebuffed and pushed away by his father. Traditional opera is notorious for its length — some of the staples can easily run three or four hours — and shortening works as evening-length entertainment is a worthy experiment. But this production doesn’t just cut, it adapts. The refugee aspects feel largely tacked on, perhaps as a way to make the opera more “relevant,” and this seems contrived, however well-intentioned.

Mr. Taylor as the older Thompson was superb, showcasing developing acting chops and excellent vocal range. His colleagues were in fine form as well. Soprano Caitlin Gotimer was similarly striking as Older Alyce, angry and unsympathetic yet also soft and despairing at times. Hers was the most conflicting character role by far — believing her husband dead, Alyce took up with another man, constantly proclaiming she’d done nothing wrong and yet clearly tormented. Much food for thought. Terrence Chin-Loy as the Younger Thompson was convincingly anguished during montages of his time as a prisoner, with Ashley Fabian lending a sense of innocence to the work. All four singers are participants in the opera’s two-year young artist program. James Lesniak lead the small opera orchestra in a generally tight performance. With so much genuine drama in Mr. Thompson’s life story (Alyce went into labor on the news that her husband was missing, for example), the operatic retelling felt strangely staid, sticking on details and repeating phrases for effect rather than narrative flow. This was disconcerting in a good way, although it didn’t allow for the full impact of the story to be felt. Still, strong musicianship carried the evening. Mr. Cipullo’s music will never have the mass appeal of Mr. Webber’s. Opera no longer has the popular reach of musicals. Even though the base components are the same, one is more about spectacle and flash, and one is more specifically anchored by the craft of singing. Both are valuable. To each their own.

Pittsburgh Opera traditionally stages chamber operas in an intimate space at its Strip District headquarters. But due to the pandemic’s crippling effect on live events, the company had to invest in several safety measures to do a live show. Audiences are limited to 50 socially distanced, masked people. Those who leave the auditorium are not allowed to re-enter, and a lengthy COVID-19 questionnaire greets patrons upon arrival. The entire cast wears masks throughout the performance. It doesn’t mar the sound quality of the voices in the small space. The 17-member orchestra, led by music director Antony Walker, plays from an adjacent room with large openings into the makeshift auditorium. The on-stage talent keeps time with the maestro through screens streaming his musical direction. “The singers, apart from the annoyance of having to sing in a mask, are handling it extraordinarily well,” Mr. Hahn said. “Just happy to be making music, as is our orchestra. They were almost all in tears after our first rehearsal because they haven’t been playing anything.” He noted the four groups — staff, performers and stage crew, audience and orchestra — had to remain as separate as possible. Due to the difficulties, Pittsburgh Opera is the only opera company on the East Coast currently doing live indoor performances, Mr. Hahn said. “They are just so thrilled that there’s anything, and these singers are deeply loved by the opera community,” he said. “In a way, this is a special treat. It’s a whole different experience. We made a collective decision to try to show there was a way to stay connected to our audience in as many ways as possible.”