Going for Baroque in the opera world is a pretty rare thing. But the Florentine Opera’s bold move into the 17th century pays lots of dividends. Working with two operas that are closely related thematically and historically (John Blow’s Venus & Adonis and Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas), William Florescu and the company have crafted a charming evening. One of the challenges of reviving work from so long ago is that we simply don’t connect with the stories and drama in the same way as the 17th-century audiences. And when we try to bring our own 21st century sensibilities to the work, it ends up seeming false and often downright silly.
Florescu works against this by injecting a bit of distance between the audience and stage. Set designer Noele Stollmack has turned the intimate Vogel Hall of the Marcus Center into a rehearsal space of sorts, with some scenery flats leaning against the wall, but others in place showing the vibrant Titian-like colors appropriate to the setting. The chorus, clad in ethereal gold and white, sets up the scenes with a ceremonial deliberateness, and, in both operas, there’s an aura of pomp that’s both stately, and a little self-mocking. The key figure here is Cupid, who occupies the stage in Venus & Adonis as a sort of postmodern emcee, commenting on the action with the occasional eyebrow raised the audience’s way.
But the music needs no special touch to make it sing in the 21st century. Christopher Larkin conducted a dozen strings from the harpsichord (cellist Scott Tisdel completed the continuo). And the sound and blend was lovely, despite the way the musicians were stretched out in a line along the edge of the stage. Chorus Master Scott Stewart helped coach a warm, full sound out of the dozen chorus members. And Dani Kuepper both danced and choreographed the interludes, which were part of the baroque tradition.
The soloists were a varied group. Patricia Risley – who many will remember from her star turn in the Florentine’s Elmer Gantry – possesses a big, throaty soprano that was almost out of scale for the space and production. But she sung the evening’s best-known aria, “Dido’s Lament,” with great tenderness and lyricism. Craig Verm, a stellar baritone, played Adonis and Aeneas with a firm, warm tone that stood out from the ensemble but was nicely matched to the intimacy of the space. As Venus and Belinda, Greer Davis had a slightly closed tone, but still captured the emotions of the drama. And countertenor Ian Howell found his footing after a few shaky moments, and sang well.
Overall, the pairing and production was an adventurous and interesting move for the Florentine, and it paid by offering another vision of opera, outside the standard repertoire – and the standard “grand” opera conventions.
