While everyone’s all agog about Wagner’s 5+ hour epic which closes this weekend over at the Met , I’m jazzed to see tonight what some regard as the first true American opera: Robert Ashley’s “Perfect Lives“, written first for the stage, then television in 1983. The lead female character (performed by the late Jill Kroesen) is even named “Isolde”, a coincidence Ashley would no doubt have found amusing. (Mercifully, it’s only half as long as that other Isolde opera.)
“Perfect Lives” may seem visually crude by 2026 standards, but it was groundbreaking for its time, with split screens, superimposed captions, psychedelic visuals, and Blue “Gene” Tyranny’s melodic, hypnotic piano blended with Ashley’s lazy drawl. With its themes of Midwest ennui, social conflict and American consumerism, it’s both a time capsule and as timely as ever.
Ashley was understandably circumspect about calling his works “operas”, as people would immediately think of Puccini and the like. “I don’t have another word for it,” Ashley told New Music USA in 2001. “There is no other word for the notion of telling a long story based on musical forms.”
He was equally unapologetic about writing his opera for television. “TV is the ideal audience for my music because of its intimacy, and because you can go faster than you can onstage. You don’t have to write 3-4 minutes of music just to get the chorus onstage…I love the idea of speed as part of our culture.”
Ahead of tonight’s 7p screening, several participants from the original production will be on hand to offer introductions. For dedicated Ashley aficionados, Roulette’s annual gala on May 19 will honor the Robert Ashley Band, along with his longtime collaborator, Thomas Buckner. Tickets for both events available at roulette.org; I’ll see you at “The Bar.”
