"JULIUS CAESAR," UTAH OPERA, Capitol Theater, through Sunday (355-2787).
Everybody knows who Julius Caesar and Cleopatra were, but Utah Opera is bringing them to life in a way nobody has seen before. Recast as a 1930s-1940s Hollywood back-lot filming experience, Handel's opera "Julius Caesar" takes on a new look, style and dimension.
The big question, of course, is "does it work?" The answer is "sort of." The "yes" part is that it provides a new look at this classic opera and allows flexibility with the direction.
For example, Handel didn't intend for this to be a comedy, and yet the restaging provides space for humorous elements. The over-the-top approach to Cleopatra's seduction of Caesar had the audience laughing more than once, and the final scene, where the ensemble becomes Hollywood actors and actresses watching the screening of the "film," is a clever and funny way to present the big-stage ensemble resolution at the end.
The drawbacks, however, generally outweighed the positives. Introducing two simultaneous stories — one that is explained clearly in the program notes and the other, which is not — left the viewer constantly wondering which reality we were in. Overall, the resetting drew so much attention to itself that too often it became the end, not the means.
This confusion was further augmented by having historical characters that already come with a fairly set package of preconceptions. In addition to juggling characters that move among Egyptian god images and men in top hats and tails with equal fluidity, one must also keep in mind that Cleopatra is the blond bombshell (although she later transforms into a more conventional ancient-Egyptian look) and Caesar is the guy in tails. And their characters would flip back and forth, as well, going from these over-the-top caricatures to somebody in a pathetic, very human condition. Amidst all the confusion, it was hard to emotionally tune in to one world or the other.
Among the positives was casting a bass-baritone (Mark Schnaible) in the role of Caesar rather than a countertenor, which made him a masculine contrast to the more effeminate Tolomeo (sung by countertenor Ryland Angel).
Also, the striking, dramatic sets with bold black-and-white designs added a dimension of their own, heavily reinforcing the personality of the resetting.
One of the best decisions, however, was to cast Lisa Saffer as Cleopatra. She was fantastic in all regards — particularly vocally. When the other elements weren't working, her arias carried the opera.
The other leads and supporting roles were generally strong as well. Schnaible has a beautiful voice, although using a wide vibrato on the melismas tended to obscure some of the vocal lines.
Christine Abraham (Sesto), Elena Bocharova (Cornelia), Angel and Derrick Parker (Achilla) deserve mention, as well.
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com