My overall impression
Opera Lovers should appreciate this unique and daring show. Though I must confess Grand Opera is not my thing, yet I could see – and certainly hear – the talent in this company. Drawing loosely from a number of lesser-known Aesop’s Fables, this truly bravura ensemble engages us in a series of life-lessons. My definite favorite was the man who wants to create a flying machine and goes to the Oracle who asks him three questions about life. When he answers them correctly, she gives him the secret of flight. However, by pondering these enigmatic questions he realizes his invention can be used in war and, when his own son marches off seeking glory, the man wisely destroys his invention. Other parables were often difficult to follow as, sadly, much of the words are lost in the soaring vibrations of full-throated singing. Among the excellent cast, most impressive is Jeffrey Stackhouse who I hope to see perform the lead role in “Man of La Mancha” some day soon. Show is presented by the excellent Southern California Lyric Theater Company.
Morna Murphy Martell, theater critic for NOT BORN YESTERDAY and theatrespokenhere.blogspot.com.
