Given the reaction of many audience members — and a few critics, too — it looks as if the run of "Pelleas and Melisande" at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis will be more roller-coaster than limousine ride. It opened last night at the Loretto-Hilton Center, and I was grabbed and completely under the spell of the vocal quality, but also of David Alden's stark direction, on Paul Steinberg's vivid, fascinating set.
After hearty applause for the singers and conductor Stephen Lord, the various technical folks took the stage for a bow. Suddenly, just off my left shoulder, I
heard an unmistakable, very loud, "Boo!" I looked in that direction to see a man in a coat and tie, his hands cupped together and no doubt about his feelings.
In the lobby, among the departing crowd, there seemed to be a lot of praise, and a lot of anger, or dismay, or disappointment, the latter mostly directed at the designers. Around the good-byes with three other local critics was a sharp division of opinion.
I'd never seen "Pelleas and Melisande" before last night. I like Claude Debussy's music, and the program notes told me it was another basically silly opera plot, filled with unrequited love and passionate performances. But when the lights (by Adam Silverman) came up, I was energized by Steinberg's mythical forest, Alden's use of wide spacing among the characters so that each had his/her own world, and lots of room. I liked watching it this way.
Lord, as the conductor, was marvelous, and the seven singers were terrific. Soprano Corinne Winters was a wonderful, frightened, child-like Melisande, swept off her feet by Golaud (a rich, dynamic, baritone from often-sadistic Gregory Dahl) and taken to his grandparents' royal castle, where the king, a rich, robust John Cheek, and queen, Maria Zifchak, try to offer advice. The sensitive Pelleas, well-played by baritone Liam Bonner, making his OTSL debut, soon makes his own presence felt to Melisande, and the jealousy bug bites Golaud in a very sensitive portion of his anatomy. He even bullies his son, Yniold, seeking information — true or not — that would link the title characters in adultery.
Michael Kepler Meo, a 12-year-old boy soprano, is exciting as Yniold. He made his debut a year ago as Charlie in "The Golden Ticket," and was outstanding. He's a year better, and would appear to have an unlimited future.
Anyway, I found Steinberg's set and Silverman's lights to be wonderfully complementary, with stark shadows making Constance Hoffman's costumes, and the mood, even darker. Given the Debussy music, I had a fine time.
Pelleas and Melisande, by Claude Debussy, opened last night as an Opera Theatre of St. Louis production at the Loretto-Hilton Center, and will be repeated on June 8, 11, 14, 16 and 24.
—Joe