Review: Utopia Opera's THE SORCERER at Hunter College

The Utopia Opera group mixes creepy horror with slapstick comedy in its latest show, THE SORCERER by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, presented at Hunter College's Ida K Lang Recital Hall in New York City.

A man, Alexis Pointdextre (Luke van Mevere), is happily in love with Aline Sangazure (Allyson Herman), whom he plans to marry. This happiness eventually leads him to wanting others to experience love as well, and he goes out of his way to get the job done. In order to make this happen, Pointdextre calls upon a Sorcerer (Brian J. Alvarado) to whip up a special love potion for the entire town to drink so they can fall in love. What could go wrong?

When the love-laced tea is given out to the community, everyone is falling in love with each other as planned, the only catch: they fall for the first person - or in some cases, the first object - they see. When Pointdextre's fiancé ends up falling for another man, he is destined to fix things once again. When the Sorcerer can't find a solution, the devil himself shows up, complicating things a little bit more.

The story and characters involved are ridiculously hilarious but the music is not. It is stunning and superb, with such impressive vocals and orchestra, you'll swear you're sitting in Lincoln Center rather than a college's recital hall.

THE SORCERER is now playing at Ida K Lang Recital Hall until February 17th. Tickets can be purchased here.

(Photo courtesy of Utopia Opera)