Ludus Danielis (The Play of Daniel), San Francisco Renaissance Voices, June 22 2013

Conventional wisdom credits Jacapo Peri with composing the first opera, Dafne, in 1597. But the idea of “drama in music” goes back much, much further. In the current instance, the students at Beauvais Cathedral in France are credited with the creation of a “musical liturgical drama,” The Play of Daniel, as early as 1227. It tells the Old Testament story of the prophet Daniel, his interpretation of the writing on the wall, and his incarceration in the lions’ den. The story is told in song, with roles and costumes and a bit of action for the singers. They are accompanied by musical instruments, and dancers portray the lions and other characters. Sounds like opera to me.

The production that we saw was decidedly modest, with white robes for the singers, construction paper for crowns and other assorted identifying insignia, and a couple of refrigerator boxes suitably decorated with more construction paper. That’s it. The orchestra comprised seven musicians playing a number of instruments: vielle (an early violin), shawm, recorder, dulcian (an early bassoon), harp, oud (similar to a lute), theorbo (like a lute with a very long, straight neck), xylophone, and drums. The conductor also played handbells.

Even though the production was exceptionally modest, the entire experience was delightful. While I’m sure that none of the singers is sitting by the phone, eagerly awaiting a call from the Metropolitan Opera, I would be very pleased to be able to sing as well as any of them myself. I will call out Reuben Zellman, who sang “court adviser” and Habakkuk in either a very high tenor or perhaps countertenor. If that was truly countertenor range, it was one of the easiest to listen to countertenors in my experience. He also presented a witty and informative half-hour lecture on The Play of Daniel immediately prior to the actual performance. A beta—and certainly recommended if you happen to be in Palo Alto on June 29 or Berkeley on June 30. See http://www.sfrvoices.org/concerts--tickets.html.