Last Updated: Friday, August 29, 2008

A Goofy, Glorious Garden Girl

By Tony Guzman

 
Brian Anderson & Sarah Coburn

Each year, Florida Grand Opera mounts what might be termed a “one shot deal,” a production of a rarely produced opera that – unless you happen to spend your life traveling the world taking in opera – you might otherwise never get an opportunity to see in performance. This season, it’s Mozart’s early opera buffa romp (composed at age 18), La Finta Giardiniera (The Pretended Garden Girl), the original recitative version of which was lost until the 1970’s – and a rip-roaring, wildly imaginative staging it is.

Stage Director Mark Lamos has re-visioned the libretto’s shenanigans at a therapeutic spa for those driven mad by love so that it plays out at a modern sanitarium as an “All-Spa Musical” put on, Marat/Sade-like, by inmates who believe themselves to be the characters. The conceit adds yet another humorous level to what’s already a hilariously complex welter of confused identities and romantic subplots, and it lets Lamos unleash all manner of campy shtick, cartoonish hanky panky, slapstick groping and genuinely inventive pieces of business.  Another unique feature of this production is that the irreverent and witty projected English titles scheme by Cori Ellison (“Confused? Just imagine being in their heads”) becomes a focal point and garners laughs in its right.

But the greatest part of this Garden Girl’s considerable appeal lies with its attractive and talented young cast. Sarah Coburn (Sandrina), who shone in last season’s Don Pasquale and who’s slated for the part of Susanna in the upcoming Le Nozze di Figaro, once again shows her ability to cast a spell. A comedienne with emotional depth, her voice has a pretty timbre and her articulation is surprisingly refined and expressive. Sandra Piques Eddy, who was striking as the Page of Herodius in the recent Salome, is an even more arresting presence in the much more expansive role of Ramiro. Her full-bodied, penetrating mezzo-soprano voice and gutsy acting makes this “pants part” her own. Leah Hunt (Serpetta) uses her throatily attractive voice and smooth charm to good effect, and she’s particularly engaging sitting on a swing singing her character’s ode to feminine manipulation. Twyla Robinson’s polished delivery and velvety oomph enlivens the part of Arminda.

FGO Young Artist Wojciech Bukalski, who’d heretofore struck us as a rather wooden actor, is a delightful revelation as Roberto. Laidback, kooky and very, very funny, he has a fluid, pliable voice that allows him to sing conversationally, as it were, with the trippingly-on-the-tongue finesse of a tenor – extremely rare for a bass. Honey-voiced tenor Dominique Moralez’s marvelous flair for physical comedy, previously displayed as Beppe in this season’s Pagliacci, is given full play as a decidedly randy Don Anchise. Tenor Brian Anderson has some very funny moments playing Count Belfiore as a neurasthenic twit with a penchant for masochism.

Stewart Robertson conducts with lucid precision, revealing the subtle cleverness of the orchestration. One might have asked for more boisterous, youthful energy in some of the more madcap passages – still, one looks forward to his handling of the great Le Nozze di Figaro score.

The lowdown: Not only do you get to actually see La Finta Giardiniera, it’s about as inventive and entertaining a vision of this opera as one could imagine. 

Remaining performances:  Sunday, February 23 at 2 p.m. at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium, 2901 W. Flagler St., Miami; Thursday, February 27 & Saturday, March 1 at 8 p.m. at the Broward Center, 201 S.W. 5^th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale. 305-854-7890.