Love polygons: the color and the shape of Amadeus

The Art Gallery Lecture Hall probably thinks it has seen it all, despite the power outage last week during Merriman's lecture on the Russian Revolution. This weekend, however, the dissolution and rejoining of marriages will take stage as the Yale College Opera Company presents The Marriage of Figaro. This passionate rendition makes the challenging medium of opera pull you in with its wandering hands and Italian trills.

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH Figaro, Figaro, FEE-GAA-ROW.

Set in Seville, Mozart's opera focuses on the passions of humanity, which all too easily tangle and snarl. It examines love in all its colors, beginning with the innocent and true relationship between a chambermaid, Susanna (Meg Reuland, DC '02) and a servant, Figaro (Christopher Herbert, BR '02). The stale marriage of the Count and Countess they serve, however, interferes with their love, when the Count tries to seduce Susanna. Despite his philandering, the Count's jealousy piques when a lusty teenage boy, Cherubino (Melissa Raz, MC '00), tries to endear the Countess (Nacole Palmer, SM '00). This mess of love becomes further knotted when Marcellina (Regina Possavino, PC '01) attempts to force Figaro to marry her, then discovers that he is her long lost son. There's even a defenestration to add to all the madness, and that's when you know the show is complete.

Eggert uses the lecture hall advantageously, creating fluid staging that makes the audience feel severely underdressed for the wedding. The orchestra, conducted by Peter Brachman, plays at the back of the hall, charging the action. The venue lets the company take a full breath and sing out with all they have.

Among the ensemble's many strong performers stands Reuland, whose portrayal of Susanna captivates with a thrilling voice and a strong presence that clearly conveys the meaning and feeling in each Italian verse. She never hesitates to play with and stir up her intimacy with Herbert's Figaro, no matter how gratuitous their love scene.

Palmer's Countess Almaviva seems to have stepped out of one of the Yale Undergraduate Art Gallery's 17th-century paintings. Her distinguished grace is helped by a stunning and delicate costume assembled by Amanda Poppei, CC '00, and Nancy Holochwost, CC '02. Her arias about the pain of betrayal and lost love are delivered with such pure emotion that the audience has no recourse but to feel her heartache. Even her props come alive and are affected by such simple acts as stroking the jacket which her husband has abandoned.

Raz's portrayal of Cherubino, the young boy who lusts after X chromosomes, fulfills the role's outrageous demands without her voice cracking. She followed her groin about the stage in pursuit of women in the true Commedia dell'Arte style. Cherubino, however, needs a stronger costume to complement her—she is dulled by her blue costume, desperate for feathers and other such puffery.

Herbert and the Count also command strong roles with opposing passions. The Count's philandering and jealousy contrasts well with Figaro's devotion to Susanna. Later in the play, they even swap emotions when Figaro finds his love turned to jealousy, and the Count discovers his true love once again. Their roles as servant and Count dissolve through their portrayals of their spells of love.

The transitions between confused love and true love are vital to revealing this opera's love polygon. The transition from ferocious jealousy to ferocious love remains strong throughout the performance. One aspect of this love nest that needs strengthening, however, is Marcellina's transition from an evil woman who tries to force Figaro to marry her to the discovery that she is Figaro's mother. Possavino plays the role of the mother so strongly that she needs to make herself a monster beforehand to score the interesting contrast in her character. Emphasizing the extremes between her heartlessness and motherhood would make this show even funnier and clarify the plot.

Opera

The Marriage of Figaro Directed by Andrew Eggert Fri., Apr. 7, 6:30 p.m., and Sun., Apr. 9, 2 p.m. YUAG $5

Although Cherubino needs some accessorizing, the costumes bring out the life in the rest of the cast with their intricate designs and bold colors. The costumes' relationship to the themes of love reflect that of the characters; Susanna's maroon-and-white dress reminds the audience of Desdemona's strawberry handkerchief, an innocent object which is made to seem an object of guilt, just like Susanna herself in the opera.

The production does not only rely on the passion of Mozart's music and language, but also uses the effort that the whole company devotes to opera to really engage. Indeed, as Eggert writes in the program, "We have sought in our own collaboration and in the power of music to find this serenity, and we invite you to find yourself in this greatest, most human catharsis." I recommend that you R.S.V.P.

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