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Little Women
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Suh, Taormina, Chavez, Woodling, Lentz
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By Michael Van Duzer
Opera Pacific proudly ushered in their new series of intimate opera productions with the Southern California premiere of Mark Adamo's Little Women. Although we regularly refer to an opera as the property of its composer, Little Women can truly be said to belong totally to Adamo who also wrote the libretto. Like all of the performing arts, opera is a collaborative art form and few composers (Wagner and Menotti spring to mind) would dare to take responsibility for the words their characters sing. Fewer still would manage the feat as dexterously as Adamo.
His version of the Alcott classic is no comfortable retread of the film versions that have preceded it. Diehards may initially be disappointed that Jo doesn't burn her dress or that Laurie's crotchety, old grandfather never makes an appearance, but Adamo has created a cameo version of the true heart of the novel; a carefully observed and wonderfully human story of family love and the possibilities of the spirit. Adamo's music is as graceful, sophisticated, and dramatically appropriate as his book. Tuneful and vividly characterized, the score features a pleasing blend of arias and ensemble pieces that beguile the ear without condescension.
The cast is uniformly excellent with enough vocal heft to tackle anything in the score and some of the best English diction I've heard. As Jo, Kirsten Chavez unveiled a generous and supple mezzo that solidly anchors the story. Stephanie Woodling is a wonderfully feisty Meg, while Christina Suh chirps prettily in her self-absorption as Amy. Jeffrey Lentz is a dutifully ardent Laurie, while John Packard's John Brooke takes full advantage of his over-the-top love aria to rattle the roof with his powerful baritone. (He'll return in next season's "Dead Man Walking") Veteran singer Katherine Ciesinski brought colors to Aunt March, while Andrew Fernando made a most sympathetic Dr. Bhaer particularly in his Goethe poem setting.
Christopher Larkin, who conducted the premiere of the work in Houston, led the orchestra with polish and precision. A niggling complaint would be that the cluttered and multi-level set designed by Christopher McCollum often seemed to battle with the simplicity of the piece, forcing the performers to clamber about in a somewhat ungainly fashion. That said, Peter Webster's direction found effective ways to utilize the set. All in all, the production is a delight and bodes well for Opera Pacific's commitment to produce chamber pieces away from their home base of Segerstrom Hall.
Little Women: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine 7:30 PM May 12, 16, 18, 19 and 2 PM May 13 and 20. Tickets (800) 34-OPERA
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