Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen brings a substantial, warm countertenor sound and an attentive stage presence to Tolomeo. His final aria, the harmonically rich “Stille amare,” was exceptionally controlled and affecting, his words punctuated by stabbing figures for the strings. Nussbaum Cohen was well matched with Lauren Snouffer, a soprano able to ornament Handel’s phrases with crystalline elegance as Seleuce, even if she lost some composure in the role’s only rage aria.
Although “Tolomeo” is not, in itself, a particularly funny opera, Nicole Heaston infused it with some opera buffa spirit in an irresistible turn as Elisa, playing the funny woman as Nussbaum Cohen’s foil. Whether she was flinging herself at Tolomeo, congratulating herself, or threatening bloody executions, Heaston’s blend of creepy coquetry and malice, along with her gleaming soprano, nearly carried away the whole show. Also delightful was her pairing with Kangmin Justin Kim, a countertenor, who, if vocally uneven, had a captivating presence all his own and brought a wink and a nudge to match Heaston’s.
James Darrah Black’s semi-staged production updates the action, trading a shipwreck for a plane crash surrounded by bits of foam and precariously placed fluorescent floor lights (Prairie T. Trivuth designed the set). Black intelligently reads the opera as a story of losing and reforging identity, though his production comes with a layer of psychological insight that is difficult to parse and somewhat at odds with the comedic choices undertaken by his cast. He has an admirable commitment to giving the performers something to do, making for propulsive drama. But at times, his production felt over-blocked — in one case literally, with mirrored cubes that the actors gaze into, fight over and stack as if they were nursery school children. These images were striking but nonsensical.
Yet Handel’s score is so lively, the happy ending so deliciously far-fetched and the comedy so unexpected, some flaws can be forgiven. This “Tolomeo” had both feeling and charm. It might not be so plainly “seria,” after all.
Tolomeo, Re d’Egitto
Performed on Sunday at Caramoor in Katonah, N.Y.
