He'll be back

Opera Vista's Viswa Subbaraman heads for Milwaukee but hopes for further Houstoncollaborations

It wasn't that long ago that Opera Vista was warming up to intone its swan song. A jack-of-all-trades, founder and maestro Viswa Subbaraman needed to reenergize his board, reorganize his priorities and reignite his desire to overhaul the way contemporary chamber opera is presented and perceived by audiences.

The nonprofit's financials weren't looking particularly healthy when this small-size company opted to cancel the second half of its 2011-12 season. But as they say, sometimes you have to take a step back before you can take two steps forward.

On a personal level, Subbaraman's respite from the wear and tear of arts administration, an endeavor that surely isn't for the faint of heart, paid off. He has landed an important gig at the Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisc., a position that he'll assume in July 2013, when he'll uproot his life in Houston and move to the Midwest.

The audition process took more than one year. Subbaraman originally saw the vacancy advertised and, like any hopeful, sent in an application, curriculum vitae and cover letter. Three interviews later, observations by the Skylight's search committee and a strong endorsement from American composer and Milwaukee-native Daron Hagen, who was a judge in Opera Vista's chamber opera competition and whose Vera of Las Vegas was performed by Opera Vista, and Subbaraman was extended an offer letter.

"It could be a great partnership for Opera Vista, this great little jewel in Houston."

"Going from a small company to one with a budget of $4 million with 33 people on staff, that's something I couldn't resist," Subbaraman, who's already working on casting and crafting Skylight's 2013-14 season, says. "I can concentrate on programming — on making art. Though the different administrative roles I took on at Opera Vista makes me value everyone who has a hand at running Skylight."

Subbaraman is attracted to the Skylight's wide gamut of works that comprise its season, among them opera, operettas and musical theater. He's already thinking about the big picture and dreams of a season that hones in and deciphers what it means to be human by exploring themes of freedom and revolution. He jokes that he's going to get out of the business of theater and get into the business of human ideas.

Skylight has seen its ups and downs as well. The performing group's troublesome financial statements in 2009 resulted in a publicized string of firings, hirings and resignations at the staff and board level. It changed its name from Skylight Opera Theatre to Skylight Music Theatre. The 2010 IRS 990 form lists a $500,000 decrease in contributions and grants and a revenue decrease of $200,000 from the previous filing, and total liabilities at $855,204. In 2011, Skylight's deficit was reduced to $30,000.

In a professional sense, that some of the theater industry's greats — Clair Richardson, Francesca Zambello and Bill Theisen — have passed through Skylight can only further his own career, Subbaraman says. Moreover, he also sees a silver lining for Opera Vista's future.

"It could be a great partnership for Opera Vista, this great little jewel in Houston," he explains.

"We brought Opera Vista into the world and now it's time for Opera Vista to stand on its own two legs, walk, live beyond me and become an integral part of the Houston art scene."

Subbaraman sees the possibility of Opera Vista becoming a forum to prepare emerging stage directors for larger and more ambitious productions. Strategically, such a mentorship program has the potential to keep Skylight fresh with new and innovative personalities, and heighten Opera Vista's visibility.

Subbaraman will continue to be involved in Houston for the next two to three years, though he will curtail his conducting engagements with Opera Vista. Local conductors Mark Marotto, who was recently appointed as the director of choral activities at Lone Star College-Montgomery, and Stephen Jones are candidates who could step up to the podium.

This season, Opera Vista aims to stage Andy Pape's Houdini the Great (Sept. 22 at Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens), for which a magic consultant will engineer escape tricks, and Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (Nov. 17 and 16 at Zilkha Hall), a flamenco opera about Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. The latter calls for a large orchestral force and a sizeable cast, the biggest project for Opera Vista to date, one that Subbaraman will direct.

"It was the right call to take a brief break," Subbaraman says about the decision to take a short hiatus from producing chamber operas. "A new motivated board is in place, we've rethought our core productions to function more efficiently as an organization, and devised a strong fundraising strategy."

A transition plan is in the works. Opera Vista hopes to hire a managing director by the end of this season.

"We brought Opera Vista into the world and now it's time for Opera Vista to stand on its own two legs, walk, live beyond me and become an integral part of the Houston art scene."

Movie Review

Bold drama Anora takes an unconventional look at romance and rebellion

Mikey Madison in Anora

Photo courtesy of Neon

Mikey Madison in Anora.

Writer/director Sean Baker’s filmography is full of films that aim to show stories not typically seen in mainstream movies, ones that often feel so true to life that they can be tough to watch. His latest film, Anora, is similar to his previous content in some ways, but much different in others.

Anora (Mikey Madison), aka Ani, is a stripper/sex worker who works at a club in Brooklyn. Because she can speak Russian, she is assigned to dance for Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), who she discovers is the son of a Russian oligarch. With an unlimited supply of money, he pays Ani for sex and, enjoying spending time with her, for her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week.

That week sees them do a lot of wild stuff, most notably an impulsive trip to Las Vegas where they — almost as hastily — decide to get married. Their elopement doesn’t stay secret for long, though, with Ivan’s parents especially upset. A trio of henchmen track them down, enlisted by Ivan’s parents to force them to get the marriage annulled at all costs.

Baker is not your typical storyteller, and so even though the film has three distinct acts, they don’t play out in ways that will be familiar or comfortable for many filmgoers. Much of the first act involves Ani in states of undress, either dancing for customers or having sex with Ivan. Although the “rich guy paying for the company of a sex worker” echoes a film like Pretty Woman, the comparison doesn’t really fit, especially because the immature, video game-playing Ivan is about as far from romance as you can get.

Whatever appeal he might have had disappears in the second half of the film when he’s confronted with his parents’ displeasure. It’s here that Baker seems to play with moviegoer expectations the most. With three goons sent to get Ani and Ivan to take back what they’ve done, it feels like Baker is going to go down the typical mob movie road. Instead, what transpires can only be described as an intense farce, with Ani resisting the trio’s efforts with all her might, causing lots of comedic chaos.

What plays out throughout the film, and especially in the final act, is a disparity of wealth. While Ani being willing to have sex with a rich guy who comes into the club could be viewed in multiple ways, it does hint at her need to make money however she can. Conversely, Ivan spends money with abandon and acts accordingly, like someone who will never have a care in the world. After much frivolity, this imbalance hits like a ton of bricks in the film’s final minutes.

Madison, who’s had small but showy roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the reboot of Scream, proves herself to be a star in this role. She owns every part of the performance, from the New York accent to the pole dancing, and she is the fire that keeps the film humming. She is especially important because Russian actor Eydelshteyn is only intermittently effective. Special note goes to Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Yura Borisov, the three men who come for Ani and Ivan. Each walks the line between drama and comedy especially well.

Taken at face value, Anora could be viewed as a merely titillating and somewhat shallow film. But Baker doesn’t do anything without a purpose, which is why the subtext of the story gives the film its power, with a bravura performance by Madison to put it over the top.

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Anora is now playing in theaters.

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