Jake Mace
Armed with only his instrument and a set of looping pedals, classically trained trombonist Elias Faingersh charts a personal journey of ambition, realisation, and transformation over an hour in A Solo from the Pit. Formerly having taken a chair at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Elias lays out the rut he fell into both creatively and personally through the lens of some of his favourite operatic stories over his career. It’s an opportunity for him to rewrite the narratives of both his own lives and the characters who have inspired him.
Opening with a truly epic hymn performed both on the trombone and sung in Hebrew through a microphone at the mouth of the instrument, perfect lighting captures this hair-raising moment which proves Faingersh’s pedigree as a stunning performer from the word ‘go’. This belies a much more casual approach to the storytelling moments that follow, in which he also makes clear that he is a fantastic raconteur with the audience, able to bounce off their energy and a shared passion of music that seems to draw people to this show.
While described as stand-up, the storytelling style seems to capture the sensibilities of narrative storytelling akin to an autobiographical one man show. Plenty of humour is found along the way, but there’s a great deal of heart and earnest truth that Elias transmits using storytelling, trombone solos, and looped vocal parts in perfect synergy. Anecdotes from Elias’ life, such as his altercations with his former Brooklyn Italian neighbour Tony, become intertwined with the plots of operas Tosca, Carmen, Madame Butterfly and more. All are done with candour and though the style of delivery is rehearsed, it is also unpretentious and at times, affecting.
Elias eventually reaches a moment in his life where his career success, romantic failure, and creative disillusionment collide and he cathartically recounts how he set out to change his life to fit in less of the mould expected of him – in excellent parallel with the lives of the opera characters he describes over the course of the piece. While there is some work to be done to more naturally segue between the personal and operatic plot points, the concept holds and the pay off is satisfying, asking all of us to reflect on whether we need to fall so neatly into societal, familial and romantic expectations in pursuit of our passions.
Though the quality of delivery is strong, it does feel as though the show could be tightened up at points to pack more of a punch – this story and all of its elements would neatly fit into a fifty minute timeslot if pushed, and might leave a little more to the imagination if the narrative was shaved down a little through some dramaturgical intervention.
Beyond all, the quality of Elias’ playing shines in the trombone moments – as he manipulates the instrument in ways you wouldn’t think possible to create a truly unique form of musical storytelling. The instrument produces both music and sound effects, though we’re never blindsided from the fact that Elias’ classical training and subsequent professional practice makes him a formidable musician.
Raucous, fascinating and utterly intrepid, Elias’ solo performance is an unrelenting gem.
Performances of A Solo from the Pit have now concluded at Catania OFF Fringe Festival 2025.
Elisabeth Flett
