Sweeny Todd, Syracuse Opera Co.
A scene from "A Little Night Music" performed by Syracuse Opera.
(Photo courtesy of Syracuse Opera/Doug Wonders)
"What can anyone expect, except to recollect ... ?" sings local luminary Kate Huddleston as matriarch Madame Armfeldt in Syracuse Opera's "A Little Night Music." In the intimate Carrier Theater, Steven Sondheim's sensual musical of recollection and re-invention invites audience members to be voyeurs as the cast frolics in woodland and bedroom until liaisons get sorted out at a country retreat weekend.
Sondheim's complex lyrics and the need to strike a provocative dramatic tone without descending into burlesque make this two-act show a challenge that stage director Marc Astafan meets with moderation in scene, costume and presentation. Set in early 20th Century Sweden, the plot unfolds around the rekindling of a long-smoldering romance between entrancing actress Desiree Armfeldt and lawyer Fredrik Egerman.
In a tangle of relationships, Fredrik, Peter Kendall Clark, has not consummated his May-December marriage to Anne, Rachel Zatcoff. Moreover, his seminarian son, Henrik, Kevin Newell, has a crush Anne, who is younger than he. Desiree, meanwhile, has a lackluster affair with a sex-obsessed count.
Huddleston is on stage at the opening, and five servants, who serve as a kind of Greek chorus - Basil Allen, Toni Carrington, Liam Fitzpatrick, Rebecca Oppedisano, and Melanie Brunet Relyea - sing "Night Waltz" as main characters dance in various combinations. Madame Armfeldt explains to her granddaughter, Fredrika, Skaneateles High School senior Katherine Krebs, that a summer night yields three kinds of smiles: one for the young, who know nothing; one for fools like Desiree, who know too little, and one for the old, who know too much.
All the music is in three-quarter time, unifying the songs, many of which echo Gilbert and Sullivan in clever, rapid-fire lyrics. Clark, seen earlier this season in "Die Fledermaus," glitters on such songs, including "Now," his early lament about the lack of marital relations with his wife. His rich baritone is consistently appealing throughout his demanding performance.
Like Clark, Heltzel is almost always on stage, the range of her passionate, sultry mezzo extending from brittle - "The Glamorous Life" -- to tender. She sings "Send in the Clowns" at a level of emotion that teeters on the edge of credibility given her stalwart character. To her credit, she pulls it off, creating the tension called for in Sondheim's signature song. The reprise of "Clowns," a duet with Clark at the end, is more understated, perfect for the reuniting of these mature lovers.
Danan Tsan and Mark Womack, as Charlotte and Count Carl-Magnus, complicate the plot with their shaky marriage and wild schemes. Tsan's spotlight moment comes in "Every Day a Little Death," describing how she will make Fredrik lust for her. Womack reaches his pinnacle in the act one solo declaring Desiree incapable of indiscretion. Womack and Clark have the audience laughing out loud in their duet about her appeal: "If she'd only been faded; if she'd only been fat...."
Talent runs deep in this cast. Zatcoff's lovely soprano and innocence - even in jibes to her husband's older mistress - make Anne the perfect balance to Desiree. Newell interprets Henrik as confused, conflicted, and contrite. Ingenue Krebs, playing Desiree's daughter, Federika, is all blithe spirit, her pure voice and graceful movement counterbalancing the prevailing, overtly sexual milieu.
Kaitlyn Costello's Petra is the flag bearer for "overtly sexual" in her late comic relief song, "The Miller's Son," with bawdy gyrations illustrating such lines as "... there's many a tryst, and there's many a bed." In her wake, Madame Armfeldt dies, and her energy passes to Federika, awash in light and youthful promise.
Curtis Tucker, a Gilbert and Sullivan specialist, returns to S. O. to conduct the ensemble for this happy romp that recalls the early 1900s and the sensibilities of 1970s Broadway.
The Details
What: "A Little Night Music." Lyrics and Music by Stephen Sondheim; book by Hugh Wheeler.
When: Reviewed Feb. 6. Continues Feb. 8 and 15 at 2 p.m.; Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 13 at 8 p.m.
Where: Carrier Theater at John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St., Syracuse, N. Y.
Who: Syracuse Opera. Curtis Tucker conducting.
Tickets: Call 315- 476-7372 or e-mail at info@syracuseopera.com.