Spring opera one acts take an unfortunate back seat

While November's Carmen proved itself to be perhaps the best production of the fall semester, Slow Dusk and The Old Maid and the Thief failed to offer even a satisfying evening of one-act opera for its opening night Wednesday.

However, the problems with the double bill start with the very concept it outlines. For some, American opera is hard to swallow in itself. Without the masks of language barriers and rich, classical overtures to fill slow points in the libretto, contemporary English-dialog opera reveals all that can be weak about American theater. Once the audience is able to hear in plain English the trials of one diva's relationship/religion struggles, there's really not much to explore as far as creative input. And in the single act of Carlissle Floyd's Slow Dusk, the audience is really not presented with much more drama than is already spelled out in the program plot summary.

Why Slow Dusk was selected for the one-acts is unbeknown, especially given the aforementioned problems in plot. Sadie, played by conservatory junior Carolyn Betty, is the unwitting victim of religious conflicts in the pseudo 1950s Carolinas when she falls for Micah, played by double-degree senior Daniel Paget, who is, incidentally, of an opposing religion. Though a simple cross hangs dimly lit as a not-so-subtle reminder of the opera's focus, the work, when singled out in this fashion, really has no focus at all. The 50-minute scene follows Sadie's Aunt Sue (conservatory junior Julie Cross) through a series of vague Southern-dialogue about hot May weather and small talk with Jess, (double-degree senior Alex Hurd) whose part in this act seems unnecessary.

The climatic moment occurs when Sadie learns that Micah has drowned while fishing, just a few hours after they had decided to spend their lives together. The pairing of Aunt Sue's spoken lines with Sadie's sobbing-wailing aria that shortly follows adds interesting dimension to the otherwise stable musical tone. But even at the peak of her drama, Betty doesn't quite fufill her potential, and the passion of the tragedy dims with the sunset-slanted lighting. Thus ended Slow Dusk, and not surprisingly, some members of Wednesday's audience chose not to stay for the remainder of the short evening.

Unfortunately, those who skipped the latter opera missed the better of the one-acts. Perhaps the fact that Gian Carlo Menotti's was of Italian blood is the real reason why his masterpiece, The Old Maid and the Thief, is one of the few traditionally-orchestrated modern American operas. Even from the opening overture, conducted with gusto by Paul Polivnick, it was immediately obvious that Menotti's work could make better use of its time than Floyd's.

This comedy shares the middle-American 1950s setting with Slow Dusk, but the attitude is entirely different. Just like the name says, the plot revolves around an upper-middle class small-town woman, Miss Todd (conservatory senior Rosalie Sullivan, who filled out a phenomenal Carmen last fall), her chippery maid Laetitia (conservatory senior Rebecca Garcia) and their mysterious, handsome houseguest/alleged thief, Bob (conservatory senior Dan Okulitch).

It goes without saying that Garcia was truly the star of Menotti's opera, if not the whole evening, but her energy and chemistry with all of The Old Maid and the Thief's cast is what saved Wednesday's One-Acts from complete failure. From the get-go, it became clear that both orchestration and stage direction were far more focused on the second half of the show than the first. Everything about The Old Maid and the Thief - choreography, duets, set and sound design - were a great improvement from Slow Dusk. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Menotti's opera itself far supercedes Floyd's in both the entertainment factor and opportunities for its actors to shine.

Though it's a given that The Old Maid and the Thief is a comedy, Okulitch, especially, yukked up his part to the audience's delight. When Garcia and Sullivan sing, "What is your name?" upon first meeting their handsome visitor, Okulitch lets out, in his richest tenor, an almost elegant "Bob," so that it's no wonder his companions reply in sync, "What a beautiful name!" Fluttery-eyelashes and almost sarcasticly sweet recitatives make the opera out to be like a 1950s-based sit-com, especially with the authentic epic radio sitting on the hearth, announcing the scene changes.

As a one-act, The Old Maid and the Thief works much better than Slow Dusk could ever be, even if it were acted and sung with more enthusiasm. While the pairing of two like-genre works in one sitting is more than a novelty, the two are far too contrasted to weigh out one another. And the same rules apply for the acting: while Garcia, Sullivan, Okulitch and the hilarious neighbor, Miss Pinkerton (conservatory senior Erin Flannery), keep their audience laughing out loud up until the opera's finish, Slow Dusk and the actors unfortunately discouraged from any character development, fails to deliver. Hopefully in the future, Oberlin Opera Theater will not have to sacrifice two lesser acts for one grandioise masterpiece; this year, a lesson might be learned.

Slow Dusk and The Old Maid and the Thief runs tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. in Hall Auditorium , and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $4 OCID, $8 for faculty, staff and senior citizens, and $12 for the general public. Standing room available at the door for $2 more if needed.

Hot stuff: Dan Okulitch and Rebecca Garcia share a sweeping, romantic kiss. (photo courtesy of Theater and Dance)