WEB FEATURE Acis and Galatea at NYCO

Mark Lamos' schizophrenic production of Handel's "Acis and Galatea" returned to the New York City Opera on Easter Sunday for four performances only. City has assembled such a delightful cast that its really a pity they're using this ill-conceived and confusing production. All four leads were making their company debut and their wonderful efforts would really have been better served by a production less silly and more coherent. 

The intrigue of the opera is drawn from an episode in Ovid's "Metamorphoses." Lamos' production updates the myth to a 1950s pool party. The men wear sailor shirts and the women bathing caps as they play with enormous beach balls.  The set consists of a large glittering green rock on which reclines a giant blue statue of Cupid. The backdrop is a tacky fence of blue plastic; trees apparently made from tin foil crowd upper stage left.

The affecting tenor Philippe Castagner portrayed Acis with delicacy and assurance. His voice, while pleasant, lacked power in places, warbling at the top of his range. He was a physically dynamic performer and his brightest moment came during "Love sounds the alarm." As bright as he was, he was outshone by Nicholas Phan, who played Acis' boon companion Damon. In this production, the homoeroticism between the two men was played to the hilt (and not that effectively). Of the two, Phan had the bigger and sweeter voice, as well as a touching vibrato. 

At the heart of this sexy production was the pleasant and sensual Sarah Jane McMahon as Galatea. Though her voice rarely faltered, she was guilty of overdoing her sensuality and never missed an opportunity to show off her lovely legs.

Jason Hardy made a thrilling entrance in the second act as the villainous Polyphemus, who kills Acis out of jealousy for Galatea. His voice is one of the main reasons to see this production, yet Lamos provided him the most preposterous of get-ups: Imagine if the Little Prince grew up to become a mad scientist. His Polyphemus also seemed to have taken lessons from both the Ministry of Silly Walks and Michael Jackson. As he began his ridiculous cavorting, the audience was understandably confused. As it became clear that the comedic effect was intentional, the house was in stitches. Hardy sang with complete conviction and accuracy, but his absurd costume and affect certainly made his vocal power all the harder to appreiciate.

In this colorful yet flippant production, the chorus seemed especially poorly direction, both in the unintentionally hilarious "Happy, Happy" and as they shuffled around like a pack of frightened chickens before Polyphemus' entrance.

The conductor Ransom Wilson, making his City debut, led the players in a brisk and springy account of the important Handel score. While solid overall, some more detail in the winds (especially during the overture) would have been nice. In the second act, Wilson catered to the darker, more somber elements of the score and achieved a requiem-like effect.