Sat 3/24
The clever, colorful, updated version of Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Secret Marriage) by Domenico Cimarosa seen last week at Baldwin Wallace University showed why “classics” remain classics — at least in the right hands.
Every asset of Cimarosa’s splendid opera buffa seems to have been exploited by guest stage director Noa Naamat. There was, to begin with, the way the actors comically inhabited the two-story dollhouse set designed by Jeff Herrmann. The young actors, resembling human-sized dolls, raced up and down the steps and sang beautifully without noticeable pause.
The orchestra, led by Tiffany Chang, and the cast, music-directed by Jason Aquila, offered a nimble, youthful version of Cimarosa’s light-hearted work. Cimarosa, a contemporary of Mozart, pitched his opera to the same set of fun-loving rich people who were not overly pious. The production was a Baldwin Wallace co-operative venture enlisting talents from the Conservatory of Music and the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Lighting design by Steve Shack set off not only the action, but also the colorful crayon-color costumes (with bright wigs to match) designed by Tesia Benson. The cheerful set let us know right away that this was not an old-fashioned “park-and-bark opera,” but a whimsical “opera buffa.”
The romantic leads, Paolino (a charmingly bumbling Ethan Burck) and Carolina (a fluttery Paige Heidrich), brought a cute “Papageno/Papagena” vibe (a la Mozart’s Magic Flute).
The rest of the tuneful cast also entered fully into the comic spirit. Carolina’s father Geronimo (Jake Dufresne), Carolina’s older sister Elisetta (Ciara Newman), their aunt Fidalma (Adriana Ellis) and Count Robinson (Ivan Plazacic) all scheme over marriage plans that we (the audience) know are useless; Paolino and Carolina are already secretly married. (And if hand gestures count, there’s a baby on the way.)
Even the servants (Mary Grace Corrigan, Ciara Ferris and Katherine Jefferis), all decked out in shades of black and white and gray, get a chance to show off, especially when they react to events with hybrid hip-hop dance poses and emoji-style expressions.
The set! Must mention it again. Loved it. I counted seven set doors, five on the top level, each color-coded for one of the leads. Why do I care? Because I love modern slamming-door farces. (What am I writing about? Here’s a quick quip from YouTube of one staging for Lend Me a Tenor, and another clip, this time of Noises Off showing just how complicated slamming doors can be.)
The story is based on a 1766 Drury Lane play The Clandestine Marriage (by George Colman and David Garrick), but don’t hold its classic status against it. It translated beautifully, and more importantly, it showcased how fine music can delight the funny bones as well as the ears.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]
Berea, OH 44017
Berea, OH 44017