Like Stephen Sondheim, Mozart started writing musicals (operas) at an early age; unlike Sondheim, most of them were reasonably good if stylistically amorphous due to his early career track.
This MSU Opera Theatre production is a prime example of Early Mozart, written in 1774 when he was 18 (he’d done about one a year after he turned 10). It must be noted that at this time Mozart was all about the music, depending for his libretto on whatever happened to float by, in this case an Italian opus by Giuseppe Petrosillini, which version was then lost until 1970.
But enough of history. Early Warning: you will enjoy this show much more if you do not attempt to read the three-page synopsis in the program – this story of mistaken/concealed identities is hopelessly convoluted and confusing, and much easier to understand when you just see it, with helpful surtitles.
Mozart’s music here is always interesting if not particularly memorable – at this point he was writing kind of whatever came to mind. He also wrote A LOT of whatever came to mind, so it’s really helpful that perhaps an hour of character riffs has been cut from the full historical version.
As well, this a relatively small show with a cast of only seven, which thus allows two full casts to rotate: Wednesday/Friday and Thursday/Sunday. It’s really an ensemble show, such that each character gets to sing at least one aria, if not more, and all of them do so very well. And it’s charmingly acted.
Within the opening-night cast, tenor Cole Harvey swaggered and staggered as Count Belfiore, while soprano Elia Meekhoff was the embodiment of elegance as Violante. Joey Cross provided fine comic relief as Nardo, while Melanie Walker as the mayor’s nasty niece got to bitch-slap everybody in sight.
As a production, this show is colorful and delightful to view, with excellent projections and inventive lighting, particularly in the second act with a slightly-hokey sequence involving a cave and lanterns.
Oh, and – “La Finta Giardiniera” translates to “The Pretend Garden-Girl.” So now you know some Italian.
This MSU Opera Theatre production runs at Fairchild Theatre this Thursday and Friday at 7 pm and then Sunday at 3 pm; you can call 353-5340 to reserve your ticket - or go to https://www.music.msu.edu Preview lectures are held 45 minutes prior to performances.