Wharton Journal

Issue date: 11/20/06 Section: Insider

Modern kitchen set. Electronic overhead panels. Motorcycle with sidecar. Nineteen-century Italian opera.

You are not alone if you fail to make the connection. When the curtain lifts minutes after the orchestral overture, audible murmurs break out in the audience. Those expecting tried-and-true period staging are probably shocked by all things reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein, but this is only the beginning. Throughout the 3-hour opera, a dizzy parade of electronic imaging, a walking vacuum cleaner and men in white makes the watcher wonder if he stepped into an experimental theatre by accident.

Hilarity factor aside, the Opera Company of Philadelphia's new production of Rossini's Cinderella bears an uncanny resemblence to the 1997 film Romeo & Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Recast in a thoroughly contemporary context, the essence in the original script remains startlingly intact. Jealousy, mockery, hypocrisy and irony. You name it and it's there. One can even argue that the re-make resonates better with a modern audience accustomed to all things digital.

Voices are what make or break an opera. In this regard, there is plenty to admire in this production. Rusandra Donose's impressively malleable and wide-ranging voice sculpts a particularly memorable Cinderella. Kevin Glavin's stentorian and deeply-glowing bass makes a highly dynamic and earnest Don Magnifico. Daniel Belcher's rapid-fire and highly-nuanced baritone voice makes a flirtatious Dandini that is charming and foxy. This opera has so much ensemble singing, often at neck-breaking clip, that lead characters are often at the peril of making cacophony if the pacing and dynamics shading aren't calibrated just right. Most times though, they manage to form a quartet or quintet of voices that alternately complement and compete and greatly add to the interpretative powers of their roles. Kudos also must be given to choreographers who synchronize gestures and movements to dovetail with musical phrases for maximum comic effect. Just the right accentuation of certain syllables is often enough to prompt side-splitting laughter.

Of course, stage antics and exaggerated histrionics are part and parcel of the production that brings this opera buffa to life. I do not think a single minute passed without spontaneous laughter breaking out from the audience. Navy uniform, high heels, shining gowns, and colorful bathrobes all contribute to a Vegas variety show atmosphere that borders on Broadway musical. I would not be surprised if first-time opera goers are mainly lured by the provocative staging and acting more than the actual singing. But this would be a pity, for some arias and recitatives are sung with such beautifully crafted yet precisely-timed delivery that you wonder how many painstaking rehearsals must take place before voices can blend so naturally into acting.

Would Rossini be turning over in his grave or laughing too hard to care? You be the judge.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools