Kirke Mechem, Tartuffe: University of Arizona Opera Theater, Adam Boyles (conductor) Stevie Ellen Dance Theatre, Tucson, 30.03.2007 (NdV)

 

When Charles Roe, the artistic director of the University of Arizona's Opera Theater looked around for an opera to produce for the school's 2007 spring production, he decided on Kirke Mechem's 1982 work, Tartuffe. He had heard the opera a number of years ago and was impressed by Mechem's varied musical score which was well-suited to his good singing troupe of graduate and undergraduate students who could give the eclectic score the justice it was due. As an extra added incentive, Roe wanted a work that would equal if not surpass his successful and moving production of Mark Adamo's modern adaptation of Little Women which the opera theater presented last year. So Tartuffe it was, and happily for the audiences who attended, the production turned out to be quite an artistic success for the University's opera department.

Mechem, who also wrote the libretto, pared down Jean Baptiste Molière's long, wordy but beautifully elocuted 17th-Century satire of religious pomposity written in verse: and came up with a shorter three-act version that better accommodated his bouncy, rhythmic and at times plaintive score. This way, Charles Roe and his musical director, Adam Boyles were easily able to channel their resources to effectively meet any of the composer's vocal challenges and to give the production a stately professional sheen.

The story of Tartuffe, the bogus religious proselytizer, who has managed to infiltrate the home of Mme. Pernelle and her gullible son, Orgon, and whose ultimate goal is to take over the family's prosperous estate, is one of Molière's funniest plays. Like the play, the opera shows how Tartuffe cleverly works out his scheme until, of course, his real intentions are found out and he is banished from the household. The story line is not as important as the way it unfolds, and Roe took full advantage of the opera's waggish plot by giving each type of the varied operatic vocal characters a slightly zany feeling while keeping the many opera buffa moments from spilling over into caricature.

Without being unfair to the composer's intention that the best way to play out the opera's comedy is to present it as an ensemble piece, the reality is that if the singer who takes on the lead role needs to give his all in creating a Tartuffe whose hypocritical piety and fleeting lechery is mercilessly exploited: if he doesn't the performance falters. But baritone Ken Ryal did all of that and more. From his sanctimonious entrance, where he nicely demonstrated Tartuffe's overbearing influence on the family's tenuous religious beliefs, through to his outrageous and lustful pursuit of Orgon's wife, Elmire, his performance showed that his character's comedy might have been drawn from his own DNA. If his voice did not always have the resonance to carry the music to its full value, his straight- forward delivery and clear enunciation were always in command.

Quite knowingly, Roe brought the other portrayals up to Ryal's level, buoyed by the cast's natural ability to pump up the ensemble with an easy zest. Nathan Krueger's Orgon used his warm bass voice to develop the character's quirky traits. His Orgon was alternately clumsy, foolishly pious and quite dictatorial in forcing his beleaguered daughter, Marianne, to marry the household's unctuous invader. Angeline Klein's Elmire, Orgon's wife, provided a moving, reflective moment in Act III singing about the myths of marital bliss: then she turned around and hit a comedic high note while feigning a delightfully obnoxious cough, to signal her husband to save her from Tartuffe's lustful clutches - which seemingly took the obtuse Orgon eons to realize that his wife was in danger.

Complimenting the opera's lively pace, but with some minor performance flaws, were Ashleigh Guida's Marianne, a daughter both perplexed and annoyed because she might be parted from her fiancé, Valère. Her substantial soprano sometimes overpowered her music, an unintended blemish on her growing talent, and while Adam Shelton made a credible Valère he couldn't quite negotiate the role's consistently high tessitura. Robb Harrison as Damis, Orgon's no-nonsense son, struck the same disapproving attitude too often, but later transformed into a very funny rickety bailiff bent on Tartuffe's quick departure during the finale. Kristin Griffeath's Dorine, Marianne's maid, thoroughly enjoyed her role as the one person who recognized Tartuffe's sham from the very beginning, but here and there her exuberance led her to go a bit sharp vocally.

Joseph McGrath's spaciously handsome living room set gave the production a positively polished look was that matched well with Dorothy Dell's tailored and elegant costumes designed in the style of what she calls "late Sun King."

It was obvious that both Charles Roe and Adam Boyles knew that a light and airy approach to both the music and the opera's comedy was the way to go in this production to make a happy time at the opera the top priority. The proof that they were right was the audience's enthusiastic reception for this merry journey into Molière's satirical world.


Nicholas del Vecchio