Opera is an art form that has been called an acquired taste. For many, this visual spectacle requires more than we are used to giving to truly comprehend. For others, it is as if by osmosis upon first exposure that the meaning is grasped.
Matthew Gallaway is one such opera lover and, more remarkably, not only has he acquired a deep understanding of the art form but he has found a way to capture its innate sensuality and drama within a story both all his own and one for the ages. And this story can be found in “The Metropolis Case.”
We meet Martin, a gay man in New York at the brink of the 21st century experiencing a cultural ennui so all-consuming that he questions his career as an attorney in favor of a dream of indulging his part-time passion full-time to write heavy rock reviews for alt journals.
We also meet Anna, a one-time diva and now Juilliard professor who is looking for her ultimate prodigy, her literal and figurative daughter who will take her place in the lights. We learn that this prodigal daughter is destined to be Maria, a gothic child of suburban Pittsburgh who refuses to fit in to her cookie-cutter town.
Finally, we are introduced to the most ill-fitting character of them all, Lucien, a late 19th-century singer whose androgyny and anti-scientific viewpoints serve as sacrilege to his father, a researcher for the Romanian Court.