THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410150042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARK MOBLEY, MUSIC CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
CONRAD SUSA'S ``The Dangerous Liaisons'' is a new opera with old-fashioned virtues. PBS is airing the work Monday night, as it was premiered last month by San Francisco Opera. Anyone excited by fine singing should tune in.
Susa, an American composer best known for his earlier opera ``Transformations,'' and librettist Philip Littell have written a lyrical adaptation of the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It is the same story that spawned two films in the late 1980s, a tale of a Don Juan and Don Juanita using their friends and relatives as pawns in a cruel romantic game.
Susa is not an innovator but a skilled craftsman, spinning out graceful lines that take harsh turns when need be. And here his plaintive, unpredictable melodies are sung by an excellent cast featuring two of opera's top marquee names. The leading roles of the Marquise de Mertueil and the Vicomte de Valmont are sung by mezzo Frederica von Stade and baritone Thomas Hampson. They are joined by wonderful young soprano Renee Fleming and veterans Johanna Meier and Judith Forst.
It is an ensemble opera - 35 minutes pass in the long first act before a character sings on stage alone. But while many of the most memorable scenes are duets, the opera could become a repertoire item as a mezzo showpiece. Von Stade is brilliant, giving a passionate and knowing account of her role. Hampson is a fine sparring partner, though his role is slightly less evil and thus a little less rich and interesting than von Stade's.
Gerald Howland's set is sparsely furnished, with rear projections and screens that evoke various locations and moods. Watching opera on television is like jumping from a bad seat to the stage to another bad seat, so it's hard to see the entire set or appreciate the subtleties of Colin Graham's direction and Thomas J. Munn's lighting. But the producers' work seemed sensitive to the dramatic needs of the score.
San Francisco Opera music director Donald Runnicles conducts. The score is in an open, American romantic style. It favors the strings, though there are neo-Baroque harpsichord touches, as well as a few instances of atmospheric percussion and dramatic brass.
This opera is in English, and the cast's diction is generally clear. But operatic volume and ensemble singing sometimes preclude intelligibility, so the producers have provided occasional subtitles. Having more text on screen would have been helpful.
The characters spend a fair amount of time on beds. And while the plot is more about machinations around sex than sex itself, there is one intense scene that may disturb some viewers.
Stick with the broadcast through the credits and watch the cast attempt to catch bouquets thrown from the audience. Most of them fumble, but Fleming, who appeared in Virginia Opera's 1988 ``Magic Flute,'' has the hands of a wide receiver. And for this compelling, flawlessly sung performance, she deserves every bud she catches. MEMO: Music critic Mark Mobley was timpanist for the premiere of Conrad Susa's
``The Love of Don Perlimplin.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
LARRY TIERKLE
Thomas Hampson and Frederica von Stade star in ``The Dangerous
Liaisons'' Monday night on PBS.
by CNB