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| Kayleigh Decker as Isolier, Kathryn Lewek as Adèle, Zoie Reams as Ragonde and Lawrence Brownlee as Ory| Photo by Todd Rosenberg |
Rossini’s “Le Comte Ory” (Count Ory) sparkled in an over-the-top production by the Chicago Lyric opera (November 18). An all-star cast with tenor Lawrence Brownlee in the title role, soprano Kathryn Lewek, and mezzo-soprano Kayleigh Decker generated buckets of laughter in this production, which was a revival that Bartlett Sher cooked up for the Metropolitan Opera. The orchestra, led by music director Enrique Mazzola, put a sheen on Rossini’s effervescent music to the farcical storyline, especially its hilarious ménage à trois bedroom scene. Taken together, that made a memorable evening for the nearly full house at Civic Opera House (which has a seating capacity of 3,563).
The comedy centers on the Count Ory’s quest to seduce Countess Adéle (Lewek) while the men have gone off to the Crusades. He first tries the guise of a religious hermit, but he is outed by his own page, Isolier (Decker). Undeterred, the Count and his men dress up as nuns and due to a thunderstorm request entry to the nunnery where Adéle is staying. After they entering, they feign piety but then discover the wine storage. Meanwhile, Adéle and Isolier have concocted a scheme in which Isolier takes Adéle’s place in Adéle’s bedroom, and when Ory enters, still dressed as a nun, he hops into bed with Isolier. In this production, the bed is tilted so that the audience can see the shenanigans, which, at one point with all three characters in the same bed, are funny and sexually suggestive, even though all of them still have their clothes on.
How Lewek could immaculately execute runs from top to bottom while two people were feeling her up beneath her voluminous skirt was amazing to behold. She is a consummate singer and actress who can steal a scene with a furrowed brow and a shrug of her shoulders. She matched up perfectly with Brownlee, the great bel canto tenor. He was in superb form and marvelously hammed it up, as the fake religious hermit and as the devout nun.
Decker created a versatile Isolier, who could fall in love with Adéle, expose his boss (the Count), connive with Adéle to trick his boss, and then participate in a humorous tryst with Adéle and the Count, who is passing himself off as a nun. Throughout it all, Decker sang florid passages with power and panache.
Mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams sang outstandingly as Ragonde, stewardess of the castle and suspicious gatekeeper to Adéle. Mirco Palazzi deftly conveyed the weary Tutor who has seen it all. Lindsey Reynolds as Alice, Ian Rucker as Raimbaud, Lunga Eric Hallam as the First Courtier, and WM. Clay Thompson as the Second Coutier distinguished themselves in their roles. Michael Black expertly prepared the chorus, which sang with verve.
Kathleen Smith Belcher deserves kudos as revival director. She provided crisp directions to a large group of people, including the use of several non-singing actors, one of whom (Kirk Osgood) directed the entire production as if it were an opera within an opera. The action took place inside a theater (designed by Michael Yeargan) that hearkened back to the 18th century. There were footlights, large overhead wheels and pulleys that raised and lowered various parts of the set. The actor-director often gave harried commands to his subordinates. It was a bit distracting at first, but Osgood’s character became an integral part of the story because he manned a large gear that tilted Adéle’s bed up and down.
“Le Comte Ory” was one of the last operas that Rossini wrote, and according to The New Penguin Opera Guide, he recycled a number of tunes from his “Il viaggio a Reims” (The journey to Rheims). Well, no matter how he did it, it was fun to laugh whole-heartedly at the silly goings on. It also points to the fact that it is difficult to write comic operas in general, and that very few new operas are comedies. Hmmm…
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