Stravinsky's Masterpiece The Rake's Progress Shines at the Met

Protagonists should be wary of shifty characters offering aid and fortune but not expecting payment for a year. Overbearing fathers with worries about their daughter's suitors are usually correct. Those naive young women who continue to pine away for men who forget to write usually get their hearts broken. Predictable operatic outcomes all, yet does one expect to see these tragedies imbued with humor? The Rake's Progress skillfully achieves just that , providing a less than predictable evening at the Metropolitan Opera.

Taxidermy and the bearded lady are just two of the strange aspects of this fable, which opened Monday evening. With music by Igor Stravinsky and a libretto by W.H Auden and Chester Kallman, The Rake's Progress tells the story of Tom Rakewell's (Paul Groves, tenor) ascent to the heights of London society and his inevitable descent to insanity and despair.

As these things usually go, Tom is an eager lad in love with the innocent and devoted Anne Trulove (Dawn Upshaw, soprano). They frolic in her father's garden (Dean Peterson, bass) until the man with the promise, Nick Shadow (Samuel Ramey, bass), arrives, declaring that Tom has inherited riches from a departed but unknown uncle. Tom races off to the city with Shadow, where he encounters an underworld far from the English countryside. Slowly but surely he falls prey to every one of Shadow's schemes, including entering a frivolous marriage with the freak show star, Baba the Turk (Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano), who is famed throughout the world for her beard. All the while Tom never forgets about Anne, though he never can seem to find the time to write. She, of course, takes this as a sign that she should seek him out, and Anne keeps the flame alive until the very last.

In a program that included such stars as Upshaw and Ramey onstage and Artistic Director Maestro James Levine in the pit, it was Groves who garnered the most bravos at the performance's end. His gorgeous tenor voice modulated and twisted, conveying equally Tom's excitement at his luck and his utter disappointment with its disappearance. Grove's voice was enhanced by his excellent sense of comedic timing and his immense energy as he jigged around the stage and bounded on Tom's dining room table.

Ramey's timing was also impeccable, and his bass notes coupled with the harpsichord, which often introduced Shadow's schemes or accompanied Ramey in their execution, proved both eerie and humorous. Upshaw was in top form and her tender solos echoed Anne's pain and confusion at the loss of her love.

Blythe, as Baba, stole every scene in which she appeared. She teases the audience with her entrance; she is confined to Tom's automobile with only her heavily jeweled hand sticking through the window while luscious notes bound forth as she bangs on the car. When it seems as though the house has no more patience, Baba is finally revealed, much to the audience's delight.

Those expecting immense musical strangeness because Stravinsky's name is on the score will be surprised. The score stays mostly even and melodic with heavy concentration in the horn section in Act I; the strings only come into prominence during Upshaw's solo just prior to the intermission. The music only enters the realm of the weird at the fable's climax during Act III when Tom must repay Shadow for his service over the past year. At this point the mocking harpsichord that might represent an angel in other works takes over in the service of doom and dread. There is a slight amount of dissonance in this scene that is not jarring to the ear but is in fact as melodic as dissonance can be.

The scenery, created by Peter Davison, was stark yet detailed, and creaked a bit as it turned behind the curtain. In the Trulove garden, the blue and cirrus cloud backdrop appeared as though it came down directly from the sky. Trees poked through a minimalist house to complete the outdoor feel. The audience was in for a visual shock as this minimal outdoor scape was replaced in the next scene with the hot red walls of a London brothel, complete with a working cuckoo clock. Lighting Designer Jennifer Tipton worked with these imposing sets to create shadows and light to evoke the changing moods.

Judy Levin's costume selections were spot on as well. They ranged from the proper riding outfit and boots adorning Trulove, Anne's father, to the baubles, whips, and lingerie of the brothel, to the tattered pajamas worn in the mental asylum. The slight nuances in the ensemble's outfits provided additional visual delights.

The story, which is similar to that of many tragic operas, finally enters the modern realm--the opera was written and composed in 1947--at its end when the characters appear in an epilogue touting the morals learned from the tale. I will not give these lessons away here, but refer back to paragraph one of this review and you'll be headed in the right direction. With its music, voices, and visuals spiced with humor and sometimes absurdity, The Rake's Progress is a treat not to be missed--and its message a wise warning as we reach the idle months of spring and summer.

The Rake's Progress continues through April with performances on Saturdays April 19 and May 3 at 1:30; Saturday, April 26 at 8 p.m.; and Wednesdays April 23 and 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for weekday performances and $35 for Friday and Saturday performances with student I.D., and must be purchased at the Box Office. For information, call the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, at (212) 362-6000.