The Ghosts Of Versailles |
Los
Angeles Review by Willard Manus Rude, touching, experimental, hilarious, outrageous and memorable-THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES is all of those things and more. L.A. Operas epic production of composer John Coriglianos 1991 opera (with libretto by William M. Hoffman) was presented as part of the companys Figaro Unbound series (The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro will follow). Pierre de Beaumarchais, author of the original plays that inspired Mozart and now Corigliano, is one of the principal characters in GHOSTS. Sung powerfully by Christopher Maltman, he heads a band of royal specters who, after having been beheaded by French revolutionaries, now haunt the palace of Versailles (sumptuous Baroque set by Alexander Dodge). The aristocratic Beaumarchais tries valiantly to dissuade a radical-minded Figaro (the estimable Lucas Meachem) from ordering the beheading of Marie Antoinette (Patricia Racette). |
photo: Craig Mathew |
That is just one component of Hoffmans wild, complicated plot which contains not just a ghost story but an opera within an opera. There is also an internecine struggle over a stolen necklace, not to speak of an extended satire of the 18th centurys mania for things oriental (with Patti LuPone doing an outrageous turn as a Turkish bellydancer). Alternating
between comedy and tragedy, opera buffa and heart-rending love story,
GHOSTS comes off as daringly brave and original. Coriglianos music
is equally fresh-sounding and different, a mixture of various styles:
experimental, neoclassical, atonal, lyrical, brash. One never knows what
to expect from the music; it surprises and delights all along the way,
helped by James Conlons vigorous work in the pit. |
photo: Craig Mathew |
L.A. Opera has pulled out all the stops with this production, which features an 80-strong cast of singers, dancers, contortionists and clowns, plus the dazzling costumes and lighting effects by Linda Cho and York Kennedy, respectively. THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES is a major triumph not only for L.A. Opera but its Serbian-born director, Darko Tresnjak, who won a 2014 Tony award for A Gentlemans Guide to Love & Murder. For tickets and information, call 213-972-8001 or visit laopera.com |