An empire in decay, a capricious dictator, and a military fractured by the competing demands of duty and desire, all jostling in a hypermasculine arena where the men are mad for a beautiful woman. This is the setting of the long-lost Baroque opera La Flora, revived with sparkle over the weekend by the San Francisco company Ars Minerva.
La Flora was commissioned in the 17th century by Venice’s Teatro San Angelo, but the composer, Antonio Sartorio, died before finishing the work. The theater turned to Marc’Antonio Ziani, a rising star in the heated world of Venetian music, to complete the opera. After its premiere performance as the first piece of the 1681 Carnival season, the manuscript score languished in an Italian library — until Ars Minerva recreated it in performances Friday through Sunday at San Francisco’s intimate ODC Theater.
For 10 years now, the eminently creative Céline Ricci, founder and director of Ars Minerva, has mounted productions of forgotten Baroque operas, bringing these works to life with a trademark combination of musical excellence and dramatic flair, of tragedy and farce — a recipe perfect for the Carnival spirit of La Flora.
As the title implies, the opera centers on Flora, the beautiful girlfriend of Pompeo (Pompey the Great — the plot is loosely based on Roman history). Neither Pompeo’s dad, General Strabone, nor Silla, Rome’s dictator, approve of Flora, forcing Pompeo instead to marry Silla’s daughter, Emilia. Problem: Emilia is happily married to another general, Servio. Solution: Servio must divorce his wife.
The ensuing complications take us through Pompeo’s many flip-flops as he swears that he loves Flora but then rebuffs her again and again. The fast-paced action encompasses the repeated schemes of Pompeo’s treacherous friend, Geminio, and the anger of the unfortunate Servio as he resists the imperial decree and mounts a failed rebellion against Silla. A swift and ostensibly happy ending leaves more than a few raveled threads of plot.
The music matches the story’s speed and variety. Much of the action is related in expressive recitative — that swift, barely accompanied mainstay of Baroque opera. The many arias are short but tuneful and varied in affect — now tender, now seductive, vengeful, grieving, or triumphant. Overall, the music is engaging and often passionate.
The standouts among the strong cast at Saturday’s performance included soprano Aléxa Anderson in the title role, who sang and acted with alluring musicality and turn-on-a-dime theatricality. As Pompeo, contralto Jasmine Johnson dominated the stage with restless macho swagger, displaying an endearing transparency in her character’s repeated denials of love for Flora.
Soprano Aura Veruni conveyed Emilia’s anguished submission to patriarchal commands with splendid coloratura and powerful expression. Her ill-fated husband was played by contralto Sara Couden, who imparted a commanding dignity to Servio’s sorrow. Mezzo-soprano Nina Jones brought a captivating snark to the amoral and apparently victorious Geminio.
Other singers included tenor Sidney Ragland as Strabone, bass Wayne Wong as Silla, and tenor Maxwell Ary as Probo, a comic factotum who both observes and facilitates these highly fraught affairs.
Ricci’s stage direction was lively as always, supported by inventive costumes by Marina Polakoff (three glittery gowns for Flora!) and splendid projections by the New York graphic artist Entropy.
A small onstage orchestra of strings and a trumpet accompanied the singers, conducted from the harpsichord by Matthew Dirst. The ensemble gave plenty of feeling to the recitatives and the numerous ritornellos — the string passages that delicately introduce and punctuate the arias.
On Saturday, the opera’s mix of virtuosity and zaniness was delightfully enhanced by the presence of several patrons in various degrees of Carnival costume. It almost felt like Venice.
