Hamilton - a milestone in operatic history?
By Priya Radhakrishnan
What is it about the bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scottsman that turned the world upside down? Hamilton has made its way into theatres, homes and even classrooms as an educational and indeed, political tool. I would venture the idea that Hamilton is truly modern opera because of its political nature and elements like the use of rap and hip hop which were and still are revolutionary cultural symbols. Social factors aside, looking at narrative elements in the story, there is a line that can be drawn through centuries of opera history that generates a very broad formula for telling stories about a historical past. Samuel Berner identified some major themes in absolutist literature which had direct bearing on the political interpretation of another opera that made history, albeit some 400 years ago - Monteverdi’s Orfeo. I believe there are philosophical parallels that can be drawn with Berner’s theories and Miranda’s Hamilton despite being so far removed in chronology and geography.
Firstly, Berner observed the proliferation of honorific titles and the antiquity of the ruling dynasty as expressed by the prologue lauding the Gonzaga and links to assertions of heroism and virtue of the ruling family. The opening song of Hamilton is a summary of Alexander Hamilton’s childhood struggle and his vision to revolutionise America. Berner’s second postulate is to do with the distancing of his prince from his subjects depicting the Bildung or the education through experience of a beloved, accessible, admired prince who later is dominated by his own emotions and experience and must sever intimate ties with his subjects to achieve his political ambition. In a fundamentally similar manner to Orfeo, Hamilton also experiences this journey from accolades and admiration to turmoil due to his choices and actions. In the second act, upon facing threats from Jefferson accusing him of speculation of government funds and threatening to expose his extramarital affair. Hamilton decides to go public with his illicit relations with Maria Reynolds so that him and his party can save face (sound familiar?), causing the republicans to taunt him with cries of “he’s never gonna be President now!”. In Orfeo and Hamilton this is the peak moment of anxiety, and more compelling a moment where the fourth wall is broken, blurring the distinction between performer and audience, and between political leader and his subjects.
The conclusion to Orfeo is often considered problematic and to be glorifying absolutism, which is Berner’s third theory emphasising on the prince and ministers as key to government operations. But this ending perhaps is essential because it invites us as an audience to criticise the world around us, through the force of spectacle. In Hamilton, the spectacle directly confronts the audience when they see a racially diverse cast dressed in Victorian garb rapping and break-dancing. This visual display is complemented by moments of subtlety which are overwhelmingly striking. One of my personal favourites is Christopher Jackson’s (George Washington) bowing his head ever so slightly when Philippa Soo belts “I raised funds in D.C for the Washington monument” to signify the shameful legacy Washington still commands as he owned slaves and never fought for their liberation. Miranda revolutionised the story of the founding of America in such a way that led to the memorialising of political leaders and their actions in a post-modernist sense as people who had complex lives, ambitions and reasons for what they did. He attempts to reclaim American history from the white men who created it on behalf of a multicultural generation whom he seeks to represent.
Hamilton is not an anomaly due to its mainstream success, but a milestone in contemporary operatic history. Love it or hate it, it can’t be denied that this hip hopera has struck up a dozen dialogues about art, history, race, politics and how we tell our stories. Contemporary opera gives us a unique way of looking at the world around us and questioning - “why?”