The Nefarious, Immoral, but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare/Boston Lyric Opera

Boston Lyric Opera's annual Annex production introduces local audiences to a rarely heard contemporary opera presented at some venue in the Greater Boston area. As part of its 2017-18 season, the company is mounting the world premiere of a work by the gay British composer, Julian Grant. The complete title of the new composition is "The Nefarious, Immoral, but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare." And it is certainly in keeping with the theme of the company's current season, "Opera Cuts Deep."

Based on an actual occurrence in early 19th century Scotland, the story concerns a medical school in Edinburgh badly in need of corpses for dissection and research. Mr. Burke and Mr. Hare are a pair of ghoulish entrepreneurs who realize that good money can be made by murdering street people and selling the bodies of their victims to the administrators of the school, Drs. Knox and Ferguson. Eventually, the doctors are made aware of Burke and Hare's evil enterprise.

Librettist Mark Campbell draws an interesting parallel between the moral dilemmas initially faced by Burke, and the surgeon, Ferguson, regarding the unusual arrangement. Campbell structures the work in five vignettes, in which victims relate their stories and how they met their sad ends. A prologue establishes the premise, and an epilogue chronicles the uncovering of the pair's crimes, their being brought to justice, and the ultimate fate of all involved.

"...Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare" contains faint echoes of Weill, Stravinsky, and Britten, with even a touch of Sondheim. However, Grant's music retains its originality. It is tonal, but highly dissonant, which creates the appropriate atmosphere for this macabre chiller. Scoring the work for a chamber orchestra, Grant features some instrumental solos that intertwine with the vocal lines. Percussion is prominently featured. Some striking highlights include the moving tenor solo of victim No. 3, Daft Jamie, and the final chorus of characters avenging the treacherous duo.

Making a powerful case for the new work, an excellent cast of singers acted and sang their roles to perfection. In addition to the uniformly high level of singing, the orchestra played the challenging 90-minute score exceptionally well under the solid direction of conductor David Angus.

For staging this event, BLO selected Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts. The ghostly white and pale gray sets stood out against the stark architectural depths of the building. The stage area and theater entrance were masked off with tall white drapery, transforming the space into what resembled a large operating room. Utilizing the entire stage space and seating area, the stage direction of David Schweizer was clever and compelling. He did not shy away from the horrific aspects of the plot while engendering sympathy for the unfortunate victims of the "Hare-brained" scheme.

As long as one does not expect the lyrical effusion of last month's "Tosca," this spikey little thriller will not fail to intrigue. The premiere performances of Grant & Campbell's opera was brief, only running through Sunday. Next March, the BLO forces will reconvene for a production of Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera."

"The Nefarious, Immoral, but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare" completed its run on November 12. For more on the Boston Lyric Opera, including information about upcoming productions, visit the company's website.