A morally gray gunslinger, a headstrong maiden resisting the demands of corrupt men, a god-fearing town enforcing judgment. These tropes are stock characters and conflicts of the Western genre and are usually reserved for literature and films. The documentary, Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera, makes evident that the art form of opera can powerfully amplify a classic frontier tale.
Video Librarian spoke with filmmaker Kristin Atwell Ford, who documents the conception and birth of a momentous undertaking by the Arizona Opera. It begins with composer Craig Bohmler stumbling across the Zane Grey Museum and discovering the 1912 dime store masterpiece Riders of the Purple Sage by novelist Zane Grey. When Bohmler realizes he’s excavated inspirational gold he calls up his collaborator, librettist Steven Mark Kohn, to adapt Riders of the Purple Sage in music and song.
Enter Ed Mell, a modernist painter who translates the arid Southwest’s vistas and canyons for a cutting-edge stage set. Through intimate backstage glances, Atwell’s documentary tours us through the sunrise of staging a Western opera.
This enchanting documentary has a wide interdisciplinary appeal for librarians and educators —particularly those within arts communities. It covers a treasure trove of topics including literature, history, cinema studies, women's studies, visual art, music composition, set design, stagecraft, the performing arts, and much more.
Click here to purchase this beautiful film on Alexander Street Press!
Read our interview with Kristin Atwell Ford below ↓
How were you called to document the making of the opera? What drew you to the project?
I was at a birthday dinner and my friend Craig Bohmler, the composer, told me about discovering Zane Grey's novel Riders of the Purple Sage and how he and his librettist, Steven Mark Kohn, were writing a new opera based on this one-hundred-year-old novel. At that moment, I thought, how do you make an opera? It combines all of these different disciplines into a night of live theater.
He started telling me the story of Jane Withersteen [the novel’s heroine] out on the Arizona/Utah border in the 1870s fighting her own churchmen for her land and cattle. While he was talking, my vision filled with Ed Mell’s artwork. Ed is a fine art painter. I showed Craig some of Ed’s work; it’s romantic but angular and abstract at the same time. It’s very distinct. The landscape is a major character in the piece and Craig agreed Ed’s artwork was perfect. Right then and there I asked him if I could make a documentary film that follows the creation of his opera.
When you set out to shoot the documentary, did you already know its trajectory/focus?
I wanted to explore how the same inspiration, the landscape of the Southwest, inspired three American masters of very different artforms—author Zane Grey, painter Ed Mell, and composer Craig Bohmler. Under the organizing principle of how a new opera is made we get to follow all these different artists…the composer, the librettist, director, set designers, costumers, and two conductors. Then you add the musicians and singers who craft their live performances.
There are so many people who work their whole lives to hone their skills and give an audience that unforgettable experience of a night at the theatre. I wanted to explore all the individual talents that come together as one voice on the opening night of a world premiere.
Talk about filming the B-roll footage of the landscape and backstage.
The B-roll is the action footage, and we had two different kinds of B-roll. We thought it was important to include the beautiful scenic vistas that inspired Zane Grey to write his story, so we visited the places in Arizona that inspired him. We also wanted to pay homage to the cinematic tradition of the big Hollywood Western. There's a tradition of a sweeping orchestral soundtrack that conveys what it feels like to be on that land. And then a lot of our scenes with the staging of the opera we let play out cinéma vérité style so unexpected moments could unfold in real-time in rehearsal and backstage during the performance.
What did you learn from the artists featured in the film?
I was inspired by everyone’s commitment to craft. When you spend time with director Fenlon Lamb and the singers and musicians, these are people who train for hours, days, weeks, months, and years to be their very best during a live performance. At times I was daunted whether my skills could live up to theirs. Then you add Craig and Ed, who both have the most stellar work ethic I've ever seen. It really confirms that art isn't something that just happens. You don't make art whenever the mood strikes. You commit every day and do the work.
Putting together a creative project takes energy. How did you maintain your passion for the project over the years it took to develop the opera?
The development of the opera was filmed over five years. Getting to see the private creative process of my favorite living painter was incredibly exciting, as was watching a dear friend create music. I got to hang out with Ed Mell while he was painting or walk in and hear Craig Bohmler turning his compositions into the orchestral score.
It fueled my passion for the film to learn about the details of how they do their art, how those elements are crafted to create an experience for the audience. Hearing the orchestra play Craig’s score for the first time changed the way I listen to music forever. I had a front-row seat to world-class art.
What do you hope people walk away with from the film?
I want people’s spirits to be uplifted by what we can achieve when we work together. I want them to consider how fictional stories of the settling of the Western frontier have influenced the mythology of our culture. I think it’s important to comb out that mythology as those narratives evolve to include new views and voices. And I would really love for people to be aware of the hard work and dedication of all the artists who create the magic of live theater. And I want everyone to feel excited about how art nourishes our lives.
If you'd like to order Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera for your institution, please click here to purchase on Alexander Street Press.
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