Bound

“...her boss Stanley, bound by production demands, harasses her with hurryig (“quick, quick, quick!”) and comes off as a caricature. Bass-Baritone Daniel Klein was forceful here and in the fourth scene as Judge Moriarty, bound by Texas law but unlikely to garner sympathy”

“Daniel Klein made his SO debut playing the dual roles of the Judge and Diane’s boss, Stanley. Crossing over roles in an opera is always a challenge for a singer, and Ruo has written the characters in a way that displays dramatic power rather than beauty. Klein delivered admirably, with a voice that was easily heard and brash when appropriate”

“Stanley, sung urgently and clearly by Seattle bass-baritone Daniel Klein, doubling as the harsh by-the-book Texas Judge Moriarty who hands out Diane’s sentence.
In the dry-cleaner scene, Stanley sings, “Quick! quick. You are too slow!” prodding Diane to stuff more shirts into the plastic bags, though she complains of 24-hour exhaustion. When he asks Diane to open the shop the next day, she argues that she has a big test and will be charged with truancy if she misses school. He ignores her and tells her he has a court date concerning his divorce, adding, ‘‘Ha, living the American dream!” He scoffs sarcastically, and then as he leaves the scene, you can hear his sobs. Even he, a white guy, doesn’t have the American dream formula.”

“In the final scene, a by-the-book judge (the stentorian bass-baritone Daniel Klein) decides to teach Diane a lesson and send her to jail.”

“Diane in her dream now stood before Judge Moriarty, a stone-faced, strident, finger-pointing caricature played to the hilt by bass-baritone Daniel Klein. “Your mother should have taught you better!” he thundered. ”