Review: Will Philadelphia’s LOVER Stay Anonymous?

Even though there’s no shortage of contemporary opera around, we all still long for the rediscovery of a delightful operatic work from the archives, particularly a comedy, of which there is a short supply. Would Opera Philadelphia’s THE ANONYMOUS LOVER (L’AMANT ANONYME)--by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George, a contemporary of Mozart, with libretto by Francois-Georges Fouques Deshayes, Desfontaines--fit the bill?  Hope sprang eternal, for me at least.

Last year, Will Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo came up with CRISPINO E LA COMARE by Federico and Luigi Ricci, with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, written in 1850, which was fun to watch and hear and I was happy to have been introduced to it.

I thought of what might lie ahead when I was on my way to ANONYMOUS LOVER on Sunday afternoon and still had high hopes when I heard the charming Mozartian overture but, well, alas. This opera comique or singspiel--translated/modernized libretto in English by Kirsten Greenidge, though the score by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George, had its original French libretto--was too heavy on dialogue, by Kirsten Greenidge, and too short on humor, so even the delightful parts of the score were weighed down.

Was I hoping for too much? Perhaps. At Philadelphia’s Academy of Music--a perfect size for an intimate work like this--there was much enthusiasm by much of the crowd, many of whom were new to opera through the company’s audience-building scheme. They were clearly and happily along for the ride and conductor Kalena Bovell and the opera’s orchestra obliged the audience’s enthusiasm with the highs and lows of Bologne’s score.

Director Dennis Whitehead Darling did his best to keep things moving, as did Felicity Stiverson, the choreographer and assistant director. The chorus sounded well prepared by chorus master Elizabeth Braden. Scenic coordinator Baron E. Pugh did smartly with the stage design, helped by Driscoll Otto’s lighting. Leslie Travers’ charming period costumes were well coordinated with the hair and wigs of April Gerbode.

The cast was vocally adept and frequently fun to watch, in a plot that asked us to abandon ourselves to the unlikely pairing of two attractive people: a man who is absurdly shy (Valcour, a hesitant gentleman sung charmingly by tenor Travon D. Walker) and a woman (Leontine, a weathly young widow, gamely played by soprano Symone Harcum) who can’t guess that the man who knows too much about her was someone she actually knew.

These two were not nearly as well laid out in the libretto as their friends and cohorts: Ophemon (baritone Johnathan McCullough, urging Valcour to be more straightforward about his love) and Dorothee (mezzo Sun-Ly Pierce, who dropped clues to Leontine about the identity of her ‘anonymous lover’). They would have been much better as the center of the story.

Perhaps if the piece had given itself over to the classic French farce style and had a few doors slamming at any particular time, things would have been a bit more jolly, in a piece that was so heavy on dialogue. There were things that reminded me of Mozart--the peasants from DON GIOVANNI, the servants from COSI/FIGARO (Jeannette, a very game soprano Ashley Marie Robillard and Colin, the deft tenor Joshua Blue) the orchestral music at the start and entr’acte, etc.--but it just seemed a bit too low key, even though there was no shortage of charm in Bologne’s music in the arias and duets.

If you’re a unfamiliar with the composer, it’s not surprising. Bologne, active in the 18th century, was the first black classical composer to attain widespread acclaim in serious European music, composing an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sonatas and symphonies and other music. As for opera, though he was a fixture on the musical scene of 18th century Paris--where he was not only a composer but an orchestral and solo violinist, a theatre director, a champion fencer and soldier--LOVER is the only one of his six operas to have survived.

Who’s next from the past to give contemporary composers a run for their money in the opera house? You never know!

Photo: Travon D. Walker, Sun-Ly Pierce, Johnathan McCullough, Symone Harcum

Photo Credit: Johanna Austin

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