Lyric Opera Presents FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES Review — Pitch-Perfect Affect

You too may find this emblematic moment as one of so many in Lyric’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, where the skills and talents seem to come from every corner of the opera world to combine in pitch-perfect affect. They are telling a story of child abuse, from journalist Charles Blow’s memoir of same name. The seminal event was when a visiting cousin sexually molested his seven-year-old person, rendering him speechless and unable to report the violation.  Memories and self-doubt then plagued him night and day, leading up to the moment of when his shame fever breaks in the finale scene we long know is coming, but nonetheless sigh in deep relief upon its arrival.

As the second act starts, lithe men dressed in drab brown costumes give Charles’ demons a dance form. They seem to be the nightmare fragments haunting his peace. They fleetingly couple, they reach up in despair, their limbs silently scream that they are trapped and want to break free. At one point they carry young Charles, Char’es-Baby (played by Benjamin Preacely) away as he flails in his sleepless sleep. In this way, choreographer and Co-Director Camille A. Brown weaves in a corollary movement language to tell the tale anew. It’s powerful, in this reviewer’s opinion, and more accurately put, nuclear powered.

Lyric Opera Brings Black Experience to Its Stage

Don’t think dirge or funereal tunes, or a Britten-like soundscape of mistreated children. Quite the contrary, it’s the very boundless spirit that surrounds Charles that brings his private hopelessness into clear relief.

Super Talented Cast and Creative Team

In this particular performance, the two main leads, as well as a third role, were performed by understudies. You too may have found that astounding as there was not one person on the stage who didn’t seem totally schooled in their role, nor a moment unrehearsed. Even the scene changes are paragons of seamlessness.

If you, like this writer, are especially drawn to opera’s tight marriage of lyrics and melody as a vehicle to deliver an emotional message, Fire Shut Up in My Bones will leave you longing for a written copy of the libretto and a continuous loop recording. An instant classic, this is an opera you will likely want to see more than once.