The big attraction of this summer’s Santa Fe Opera season was supposed to be the American premiere of Tan Dun’s “Tea: A Mirror of the Soul.”
But little did the company know when it committed to the work several years ago that it would be upstaged by the Metropolitan Opera’s much-hyped world premiere of the composer’s “The First Emperor” in December.
Not only had Tan Dun fatigue set in by the time this production rolled around, but “Tea” turned out to be as much of a mixed bag as “The First Emperor,” though in perhaps different ways.
Instead, what has emerged as the summer’s star attraction is the most unlikely of operas – “Platée,” a quirky, all-but-unknown comedy by 18th century French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Although it is a brilliant work on many levels, it has musical and theatrical conventions that can seem puzzling and distant to audiences more than 250 years after its creation.
For the opera to come alive and work its magic today, it needs a caring, highly creative staging, and that’s exactly what it received from a brilliant artistic team led by French director and costume designer Laurent Pelly.
The team’s previous productions in Santa Fe – “La Belle Hélène” (2003) and “Cendrillon” (2006) – were both tremendous successes, especially the former, and this hilarious, wonderfully outlandish production holds it own with them.
Interestingly, this take on “Platée” actually pre-dates both of those previous offerings, having been originally staged at the Opéra National de Paris in 1999. This is essentially a revival of that production with modifications to fit Santa Fe’s stage and other modest changes.
The essential plot of this mythological take-off is simple. To cure Juno’s fits of jealousy, a scheme is hatched for Jupiter to feign love for a less-than-attractive marsh nymph, Platée, looking like some combination of a miniature Jolly Green Giant and a turnip. When Juno rushes in during the supposed wedding and sees Platée, she realizes the folly of her concerns.
Building on that simple story, Pelly and his collaborators have created an extraordinarily rich, often wacky production with everything from a velvet-suited Jupiter descending from the ceiling amid a flash of fireworks to a frog ballet to a manic reshuffling of theater attendees in the prologue.
If the point of all this zaniness is not always immediately clear, it really doesn’t matter. Everything comes together as a funny, hugely entertaining whole, and if it all seems a bit over the top, a strong case can be made that it is in keeping with the opera’s inherently playful, often mocking spirit.
The cast is first-rate across the board, with tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt excelling as Platée. A fine actor who hams it up but also manages to convey the necessary poignancy of the character, he is also a nuanced, agile singer who moves easily into falsetto and adroitly handles the role’s many comedic vocal affectations.
Also deserving special mention is Heidi Stober. This terrific soprano takes on two roles, but it is her bravura, fun-filled performance as Folly that sticks in the memory. Seemingly able to do virtually anything she wants vocally, Stobler handled the role’s coloratura demands with spectacular ease.
Rameau labeled this work a comédie-ballet, and dance is seamlessly integrated into this production, with a group of 14 first-rate dancers and wonderfully inventive choreography by Laura Scozzi, a regular Pelly collaborator.
Although “Tea” has some affecting moments, especially Seikyo’s mournful concluding aria and the beautiful love duet between Seikyo and the princess, Lan, in Act 2, it remains strangely unsatisfying.
The exact point of the story, which revolves around a kind of bizarre love triangle, is never completely clear. And the opera’s over-arching metaphor of tea, a symbol for love and fulfillment, remains oddly hazy despite a surfeit of references.
Like other contemporary Chinese composers, Tan Dun tries to bridge Eastern and Western musical traditions, but he fails in “Tea” to achieve a substantive, original fusion. The score has a cliched, Hollywood quality about it, and he relies too much on gimmicks from earlier works such as “Water Passion.”
Much like the opera itself, director Amon Miyamoto’s staging comes off as something of an over-indulgence, with dancing and other peripheral happenings doing more to distract from the central action than enhance it.
While tenor Rogery Honeywell seems strangely miscast as Lan’s brother, the two other principals – soprano Kelly Kaduce as Lan and baritone Haijing Fu as Seikyo – are wonderful singer-actors who achieve a compelling rapport.
Rounding out Santa Fe’s offerings is Richard Strauss’ mythological opera, “Daphne,” which the company premiered in the United States in 1964. Although the music is evocative and beautiful, especially the chorales, it is not to everyone’s taste.
This production never quite generates the emotional power of which the opera is capable, and the culminating scene in which Daphne is transformed into a laurel tree falls a bit flat.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
Santa Fe Opera
OPERA |Final three Santa Fe Opera productions of the 2007 season: “Tea: A Mirror of the Soul,” “Platée,” “Daphne”|Santa Fe Opera amphitheater, north of Santa Fe on U.S. 84/285; “Daphne,” 8:30 p.m. today, “Platée,” 8 p.m. Wednesday and “Tea,” 8 p.m. Thursday|$27-$170| 800-280-4654 or .
