Offenbach's La Belle Helene at Opera Theatre of St. Louis

The third of a series of lively operas bouffe (or comic operas) by Offenbach that started with the 1858 Orpheus in the Underworld, La Belle Helene manages to thumb its nose at both the noble intrigues of the ancient Greek gods and heroes and the airheads flitting around the court of Napoleon III. In the current production, the 1864 topical references have been replaced by contemporary (and mostly local) ones, but the parodies of bureaucratic inefficiency, graft, and male and female vanity are just as timely now as they were over a century ago. Human nature really changes very little, variations in fashion aside.

Offenbach's lively and tune-filled score has a good time poking fun at the conventions of serious opera. And much of it will be familiar to listeners of classical radio stations; the overture shows up frequently in their playlists, and several of the numbers from the show were incorporated into Rosenthal's immensely popular ballet Gaite Parisienne. It is sung in splendid style by a talented cast and, especially, by Cary John Franklin's superbly-trained chorus. In previous years some critics, myself included, have had cause to complain about muddy elocution on the part of the chorus, but not this time. And a good thing, too; Offenbach, like his British counterpart Sir Arthur Sullivan, tends to rely heavily on large and mildly contrapuntal choral sequences for dramatic and comic effect.

Mezzo Pamela Dillard, as Helen of Troy, heads this superb cast, and she's just about perfect for the role - beautiful, regal, and with a strong, accurate voice. Tenor Gordon Gietz, in his Opera Theatre debut, is a delightfully lecherous and slightly vain Paris. Bass-baritone Lester Lynch does a nice job with both the imposing and comic aspects of the venal high priest Calchas. Tenor James Daniel Frost brings some very funny physical comedy to the role of Menelaus, who comes across in this treatment as an ineffectual bureaucrat, and baritone Perry Ward is appropriately smug and silly as Agamemnon, King of Kings. Other fine performances come from John McVeigh as Achilles (bronze and steel, except for his heel) and Paul Kirby and Bo Song and the two Ajaxes.

Costume John Carver Sullivan and set designer Miguel Romero have set La Belle Helene in the time and place in which it was actually written - Second Empire France - and the concept works well. Besides, the set pieces and drapery draw attention away from the "festival stage", which can only help.

In short, La Belle Helene is great summer fun from start to finish. If you've never been to an Opera Theatre production and want to find out what goes on there every June, this is definitely the show for you. It continues in rotating repertory through June 24th at the Loretto Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Rd. in Webster Groves. Call 314-961-0644 for ticket information.