Publication Date: Friday Feb 23, 2001

Get 'Tartuffified'

First, let me say by way of a disclaimer that I am not an opera buff. Nonetheless, I can say with the authority of one who enjoys the comfy side of the footlights that West Bay Opera's current production of "Tartuffe" is like coffee and cake: stimulating and sweet. And for the audience at last Sunday's matinee and discussion, it was a memorable three-act meal. One woman even gasped audibly when it was announced that composer Kirke Mechem would take questions after the show.

Mechem deserves the accolades heaped upon him for crystallizing an idea brilliant in its simplicity--to present French playwright Jean Baptiste Moliere's "Tartuffe" as a comic opera. Now you can see why.

In the 17th-century original, Tartuffe--a charlatan in priest's clothing--secures the patronage of Orgon, a foolish aristocrat. He plots to trick Orgon into deeding him his estate. Fortunately Orgon's second wife, Elmire, is too smart to "get Tartuffified." She knows that like the holy hypocrite he is, Tartuffe will play the fool, too, at the sight of her corseted bosom. She hopes to make the hunter become the prey.

Mechem adds several clever new twists to this version. Where Moliere intentionally employed shopworn cliches to satirize "the fool," "the ingenue," "the suitor," "the maid" and other stock characters in the play, Mechem blends musical morsels from Beethoven, Verdi and other composers into his modern version of a classic operatic score.

Director Kenneth Tigar, a professor of dramatic arts at the University of Connecticut and a television character actor (his credits include "The X-Files" and "The West Wing"), chose to humanize the story's characters, rather than adapting the broad Comedie Francaise styles typical of Moliere's plays.

This "Tartuffe" is easier to connect with than a comedia dell'arte farce and more accessible than many operas. Imagine finding the wit in the music, not the rhyme, of a Shakespeare comedy.

West Bay Music Director David Sloss and an orchestra of 23 musicians fill the Lucie Stern Theatre with a perfectly paced and satisfying performance. And the cast of seasoned opera singers devour Mechem's challenging score, making their singing sound effortless. Sylvia Eowyn Bloom's (Mariane) second-act aria, in which she pleads with her father not to force her marriage to Tartuffe, spotlights her beautiful soprano voice and sincere delivery.

Mezzo-soprano Rachel Michelberg (Elmire) sparkles as the necessary tonic for the philosophical extremes of the opera's male characters. She is the true heroine and central character of the story. (Michelberg and Darla Wiggington are double-cast in the role.) Michelberg's comedic sensibility, womanly confidence and full-bodied vocals make each of her scenes a pleasure.

James Akin's Tartuffe is no fop, he's a Machievellian cartoon cat. Pious and purring, he plays Tartuffe toned down and with a hint of mystery. Getting opera singers to do the kind of character work dramatic actors do proves to be the right choice.

Tigar elicits a very natural style of acting from the rest of the cast as well. Lyric tenor Kurt Alakulppi, soprano Aimee Puentes, mezzo-soprano Constance Howard, bass Eric Coyne and baritone Michael Strelo-Smith have mastered a surprisingly challenging score. As actors they play it straight. They don't stand nose to nose, singing in fortissimo. They don't mug for the audience, but nor do they forget to keep acting when their mouths are closed. The icing on the cake: clear, crisp enunciation.

Palo Alto audiences aren't to be trifled with. But if a bite of Moliere served a l'opera whets your appetite, don't deny yourself the pleasure of getting "Tartuffified."

What: West Bay Opera presents "Tartuffe" in English with supertitles

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

When: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $36, with a special $18 youth ticket (for those under 18) for the Sunday matinee only.

Call: (650) 967-4040 

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