Richard Strauss may have been the most significant composer of the 20th century’s first half, but his music often sounds as if he were looking backward and forward at the same time. He was part romantic, part modernist, but he seldom indulged his romantic inclinations more avidly than in his opera, “Arabella,” a poignant love story that takes the ingredients of a farce — disguises and mistaken identity, lovers star-crossed and confused — and turns them into something sweet, slow-paced and satisfying.
Or at least that’s the case with the Minnesota Opera production of “Arabella” that opened at St. Paul’s Ordway Center on Saturday night. In this staging, Strauss’ demanding music is handled with exceptional care by an outstanding cast, conductor Michael Christie and the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. One lovely aria after another is gently delivered in strong yet supple voice, bearing the audience aloft on a cloud of poignant beauty. While the set only subtly suggests the grandeur of 19th-century Vienna, the performers make it all feel eminently elegant.
To hear the plot described, you might think this a rollicking comedy. Down to his last gulden, a count hopes to marry off his oldest daughter, Arabella, to someone wealthy. Among her suitors is an army officer who’s adored by Arabella’s younger sister who, alas, has been disguised as a boy her whole life. Meanwhile, Arabella falls for a man she sees on the street, who might actually be the answer to the count’s prayers … until misunderstandings lead to arguments, allegations and scandal.
Don’t expect any slamming doors or stumbling down staircases, for everything in Minnesota Opera’s production is presented with grace and class. Yet timing is key to keeping the confusion going, as characters repeatedly just miss one another, and director Tim Albery keeps the action rolling smoothly like the Danube. And he’s blessed with a cast that makes each character vulnerable, believable and voluptuous of voice.
Jacquelyn Wagner is exceptional as she turns each of Arabella’s arias into a heartfelt expression of love, longing, introspection and understanding, all the while making this compassionate chanteuse a fascinating figure. As the rural tycoon who wins her heart, Craig Irvin displays in his emotionally versatile voice and engaging characterization the fish-out-of-water awkwardness of a man of the country in Viennese society. As the sister and the soldier she desires, Elizabeth Futral and Brian Jagde inject some passionate urgency into the center of the story, while Dale Travis makes the money-hunting patriarch the richest comic character on stage.
In the end, this is a very touching opera, as the aging, long-married Strauss offers an affectionate homage to the rewards of a lasting commitment. Too rare are romantic comedies that make the case that love is for grown-ups, too. And it’s hard to imagine this one being given a more absorbing and beautiful interpretation.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at rhubbard@pioneerpress.com.
MINNESOTA OPERA’S “ARABELLA”
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul
Tickets: $200-$20, available at 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org
Capsule: Gentle and beautiful, it’s a love story presented with a lot of love.
