CONSIDERED OPINION OF THE OPERA CLEVELAND PERFORMANCE OF 8/10/07

Stephen Sondheim: A Little Night Music (Kenneth Derby, Fredrik Egerman; Marla Berg, Desiree Armfeldt; Kathleen Huber, Madame Armfeldt; Erin Stewart, Anne Egerman; Philippe Pierce, Henrik Egerman; Jodi Brinkman, Petra; Chris Vettel, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm; Meghan Moroney, Countess Charlotte Malcolm; Betsy Burleigh, cond.)

It's a melancholy coincidence that Opera Cleveland should open its new production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music less than two weeks after the death of the great film director Ingmar Bergman. It was, after all, Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night that inspired the Sondheim musical. And both works resulted in part from commerce and necessity forcing healthy constraints on art.

Bergman once compared Smiles of a Summer Night to a series of soap commercials he had directed. The movie was intended to earn some cash. Sondheim's dark original conception of A Little Night Music, meanwhile, had to give way to producer Hal Prince's insistence on having plenty of what he called "whipped cream on top." And “Send in the Clowns,” the musical's biggest hit, owes its distinctive short musical phrases to the fact that the original Desiree, Glynis Johns, wasn’t very good at singing anything longer. Despite—or perhaps because of—the compromises, Smiles of a Summer Night and A Little Night Music are, in their own way, every bit as masterful as The Seventh Seal and Sweeney Todd.

If you're not familiar with Sondheim’s score, you won’t go wrong getting to know it in Opera Cleveland’s exceptional new production. Friday’s opening night performance wasn’t yet letter-perfect. There were a couple of points when the songs “The Glamorous Life” and “The Miller’s Son” challenged the generally well-judged leadership of conductor Betsy Burleigh. But such faults were of little moment. Frankly, Sondheim’s score is so good and Paul F. Gurgol’s direction so fundamentally sound that, had the show started over when last night’s performance ended around 11 p.m., I’d have happily stayed for a second go round.

Take that version of “The Miller’s Son.” No, singer and orchestra weren’t always faultlessly synchronized. But Jodi Brinkman, who plays the maid Petra, has such a fantastically charismatic, dynamic stage presence that it hardly seemed to matter.

The rest of Opera Cleveland’s cast is nearly as strong. Kenneth Derby doesn’t eclipse memories of Len Cariou, the original Fredrik Egerman. But Derby gives an extremely solid performance that achieves the right mix of comedy and believability. Erin Stewart is a charming Anne Egerman, Kathleen Huber close to definitive as the elderly Madame Armfeldt. And not only does Philippe Pierce bring impressive vocal agility to the role of Fredrik’s repressed, cello-playing son Henrik; he manages the difficult task of making the character at once appealing and hilariously drippy.

And Desiree Armfeldt—the aging actress who fascinates Frederik Egerman even after fourteen years apart? Marla Berg is perfectly cast in the role. And it’s thanks to her sure-footed acting that she can situate her version of “Send in the Clowns” just a few millimeters shy of sentimentality. The result’s utterly different from Glynis Johns’ more restrained rendition of the song on the original Broadway cast recording.

It’s a show not to be missed. You can either savor A Little Night Music’s sophistication or simply enjoy its whipped cream. The musical invites analysis, but doesn’t require it. Frank Sinatra, one of the innumerable singers to record "Send in the Clowns," was once asked what he thought that much-discussed song meant. The answer, he thought, was obvious, and his explanation was a model of concision. "Listen," he said, "you love a chick, she walks out, send in the clowns."

Jerome Crossley for WCLV 104/9.

Considered Opinions is WCLV's program that reviews performances by Cleveland-area music ensembles. Commentator Jerome Crossley offers an informed and witty perspective on performances by groups that include the Cleveland Orchestra, Opera Cleveland, and Red {an orchestra}. Considered Opinions typically airs at 9.45 a.m., 12.20 p.m., and 5.20 p.m. the Friday following a Cleveland Orchestra concert, and it repeats at 9.45 a.m. on Saturday. Other air-times depend on the schedule of the ensembles reviewed.

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