Beauty and the Beast (Zémire and Azor)

Opera Theatre of St. Louis

Opera Theatre has chosen to re-title it's production of Andre Grétry's 1771 romantic comedy Zémire and Azor as Beauty and the Beast, presumably on the assumption that the number of audience members who are familiar with the 1756 fairy tale on which the opera is based far exceeds the number likely to be familiar with either the work itself or, for that matter, its composer.

It's a good assumption. Before this past weekend, the alpha and omega of my own knowledge of Grétry was limited to an appreciation of the dramatic overture to his 1778 opera The Judgment of Midas. It turns out that he was immensely popular in his time and wrote something like 50 operas. He also managed to not only survive but even prosper during the reigns of the infamous Louis, the Republic, and Napoleon - a remarkable accomplishment all by itself and a tribute to his political flexibility.

Written when Grétry was 30, Zémire and Azor was a hit for the young composer and launched his international career. It's an opera comique, that typically French form of musical theatre defined by lively melodies, lightweight romantic and/or comic subjects, spoken dialog, ballet sequences and, in later years, topical satire. Jean-François Marmontel's libretto sets the familiar story in Persia but otherwise it's "Beauty and the Beast" as we all know it.

In keeping with the fairy tale theme, designer André Barbe has provided whimsical garden-themed storybook sets with just a touch of Beatrix Potter and, for the palace of the beastly Azor, a Terry Gilliam-style candelabrum. There are also four "invisible" servants dressed as hedges who provide some of the magic and sound effects; you'll want to come back early from intermission to watch their silly stage business before the second act. Barbe's beast costume is a delight; instead of the usual piggish monstrosity the bewitched prince is a bird of prey, complete with red-tipped wings and talons.

All these visual treats wouldn't amount to much, of course, without a cast of strong singers, and once again Opera Theatre has delivered the goods. Soprano Anna Christy is just spectacular as the virtuous Beauty Zémire, with a clear, supple voice that handles Grétry's occasionally excessive vocal ornaments with ease. Baritone Hugh Russell is vocally solid and completely convincing as Zémire's besieged father. He also proves a good foil for the appropriately farcical antics of tenor Jeremy Little as the obligatory comic servant Ali. Soprano Kiera Duffy and mezzo Alison Tupas are also quite funny as Zémire's fashion-obsessed sisters. Finally, tenor John Osborn turns in a fine performance as the beastly Azor, managing to convey the character's anguish despite the handicap of a bird mask that conceals his face until the final moments of the opera.

Speaking of which, the six un-credited dancers deserve medals of some sort for gracefully executing the complex steps of director and choreographer Renaud Doucet's second-act courtly ballet despite the dual handicaps of formal 18th-century dress and massive avian headgear. I'm amazed that they could even see through the things.

Jeannette Sorrell conducts the orchestra with great aplomb. Yes, there were some minor problems on opening night, but as they were very minor indeed they'll almost certainly be corrected by the time you see the opera.

There aren't many operas that you can take children to, by the way, but Beauty and the Beast is certainly one of them. Younger kids may get restless during some of the more dramatic arias, but everyone will enjoy the broad comedy and visual jokes such as the "magic cloud" tricycle (complete with a silly horn) and the flying serpent from Act II - a kind of reverse jack-in-the-box with glowing eyes. It won't even matter whether or not they can clearly read the new projected English text, which appears on screens at the sides of the stage; English Diction Specialist Ben Malensek has done his work so well that the "supertitles" are mostly superfluous.

You can order tickets at 314-961-0644 or at opera-stl.org, but you'd better do it now. Beauty and the Beast will be presented only four times before it closes on June 24th [2005] and no amount of magic will change that.

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