Berlioz's partisanship kept the name of Gluck alive in the 19th century. But where is his champion today? Not at the Metropolitan Opera, which has not done a Gluck opera in 30 years. And with few exceptions, the Met is symptomatic of a chronic neglect of Gluck in the US. That is what made the revival of Alceste by Opera Boston in collaboration with Boston Baroque a must-see event, and fortunately the performance paid fitting tribute to this glorious work. Unfortunately, it was given only twice.
Brad Dalton's production did take a bizarre tack by replacing Gluck's ancient Greeks with a 19th-century American religious sect that dressed austerely (costumes by Rafael Jaen) and gathered in a whitewashed meeting hall (set by Susan Zeeman Rogers). But his staging conveyed their grief when their leader Admètelies dying, as well as the heroism of his wife Alceste in resolving to take his place in death. Dalton poignantly shows the couple reunited with their children after Admète's health is restored, an outwardly happy scene fatally darkened by Alceste's knowledge of her underworld destiny.
We have learnt to accept Handel's aria-oriented operas, yet can only marvel at Gluck's achievement in devising a structure whereby airs, ensembles, choruses, accompanied recitative and pantomime miraculously interact. And the French revision of Alceste(performed in Boston), unlike the Italian version, is so astutely constructed that it never turns overly sombre.
Nicole Folland lacks the monumentality of past Alcestes such as Kirsten Flagstad or Jessye Norman, but her portrayal is all the more human, and the voice is warm and clear. Norman Shankle, tender in his big aria, displayed the vocal mettle for Admète'sdefiance of the gods. Doubling as the High Priest, Stephen Salters brought both comic swagger and sympathy to Hercules, and Kevin Deas's supernatural pronouncements were imposing. Astonishingly, the superb period-instrument band Boston Baroque under Martin Pearlman has played for only a handful of staged operas in its 30 years. Its partnership with the small but enterprising Opera Boston is a natural, and the beautifully restored 1,200-seat Cutler Majestic Theater is just the place for more baroque opera.
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