Isabel Leonard (Marnie), Dísella Lárusdóttir, Peabody Southwell, Deanna Breiwick, Rebecca Ringle Kamarei (Shadow Marnies)

The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Marnie has received a huge amount of press, with divided opinions. The HD broadcast to cinemas puts attention on its best features, and gives us opportunity to put the work in perspective.

From one point of view, Marnie seemed like an excellent choice for an opera because it has an intriguing central character and a melodramatic story. From another perspective, however, it was a puzzling choice, considering that the 1964 Alfred Hitchcock movie was one of that director’s least acclaimed. The New York Times called it “the master's most disappointing film,” notable for its icy cold heroine and a lead male part with little charm compared to other Hitchcock heros.

The opera is based on the original 1961 novel by Winston Graham because rights to the film were too difficult to obtain, and because the novel was set in England in the 1950s — a place where psychoanalysis was less accepted than in America — so Marnie’s problems remained more suppressed. The opera tells the story through the eyes of Marnie, which is a sensible choice.

The operatic creation process intentionally softened the leading man and woman. Director Michael Mayer told librettist Nicholas Wright and composer Nico Muhly that audiences would lose interest in the protagonists if they were unlikeable. I find the change to be a mixed blessing. The Tippi Hendren/Hitchcock interpretation was chilling to the point that it piqued our curiosity, whereas Isabel Leonard’s image is so sweet that we lose the essential ingredient of creepiness.

The Met production is visually arresting and the performances are all superb. Yet the totality fails to grip us. Sad to report, audiences leaving the theater repeatedly said “Interesting story, blah music.” The 37-year-old Muhly is a favorite of avant garde aficionados and his orchestral writing is fascinating. Yet his vocal music, so far, has not been gripping.

There are two ways in which singing communicates with audiences. One is with melodies that touch the heart, as in Verdi. There, the tunes themselves convey feelings. The other is by reflecting the patterns of speech, as in Debussy. Muhly takes neither of these paths. His writing puts accents where a real person would not put them. Where a conversationalist would lower his or her voice, this music jumps upwards.

The story is of a disturbed woman who repeatedly steals and keeps changing her appearance and name. (Clearly, her employers didn’t check social security numbers or credit reports.) As she sings “Shall I be raven dark or fiery redhead?” she is hiding a trauma. Think of Moss Hart and Kurt Weill’s Lady in the Dark, but without the humor. Some critics might be nasty and say “And without the catchy music too.” Like its predecessor, Marnie’s leading lady goes to a shrink and a simplistic explanation emerges.

Isabel Leonard uses her good looks and warm voice effectively. Christopher Maltman does admirable dramatic and vocal work in the ungrateful part of Marnie’s husband. Anthony Dean Griffey is impressive as Marnie’s bullying first boss. Countertenor Iestyn Davies is superb as the lustful brother of Maltman’s character. He sings like a muted trumpet in the closest this opera comes to an aria, “Wounds never heal.” Denyce Graves sounds wonderful in her return to the Met stage as Marnie’s mother.

Sets and costumes are the main focus in the production, and are clearly transmitted through the live television direction of Habib Azar. The sets by Julian Crouch and 59 Productions consist of rapidly-sliding panels plus projections. Arianne Phillips' costumes include fifteen changes for Marnie, and chic, brightly-colored dresses for four lookalikes who follow her around in green, blue, lavender and orange. Robert Spano impeccably led the Met orchestra through the complex score of instrumental chattering with flickering touches of color, while Donald Palumbo’s chorus did its usual excellent work.