A long, strange trip: Opera Philadelphia's Il viaggio a Reims

Il viaggio a Reims exists more as a connoisseur's curiosity than as a crowd-pleasing comedy. The Rossini rarity opens Opera Philadelphia’s 50th anniversary season in a well-traveled production originally staged by Damiano Michieletto. The Italian auteur’s vision for this screwball farce takes many bold narrative swings, producing memorable moments and striking tableaux, but these isolated pleasures often come at the expense of cogent storytelling and consistent performances.

Press materials widely touted this engagement as Michieletto’s US debut – technically true, I suppose, although the revival was actually helmed by Eleonora Gravagnola. Michieletto largely dispenses with the plot, which concerns a group of stylish pilgrims who find their voyage to the coronation of France’s King Charles X interrupted, and resets the action in a contemporary gallery, where the characters become artists and subjects, historians and patrons. Rossini’s parade of virtuosic arias thus takes the form of a glittery pageant, which somewhat suits a libretto (by Luigi Balocchi) held together by only the thinnest thread of narrative cohesion.

As a sui generis interpretation, this approach mostly worked, especially when it allowed the audience to connect with Rossini’s unfamiliar music through associations with well-known pieces of art. An extended sequence that found famous canvasses coming to life, from Frida Kahlo to Keith Haring, proved delightful. Recasting the character of Lord Sidney (strong-voiced bass Scott Conner) as a lovelorn John Singer Sargent becoming entranced by the Portrait of Madame X was a novel touch. Carla Teti’s haute couture costumes and Alessandro Carletti’s color-blocked lighting frequently created a visual feast.

Yet for a work that resides largely outside the traditional canon, the hard pivot toward an abstract, imagistic staging occasionally proved alienating – I often observed audience members consulting the program’s excellent summary during the performance to keep up. Were this an actual exhibit presented at a museum, one might have wished for a more unified curatorial vision.

As with many of Opera Philadelphia’s productions, the musical strength started in the pit, where Corrado Rovaris led a spirited reading of the madcap score. Tempi were fast and flashy in a way that helped move some of the work’s more lugubrious sections along, and the juicy woodwinds proved a consistent delight throughout the evening.

The mostly young cast sparkled as well. Soprano Emilie Kealani offered a ravishing account of Corinna’s Harp Aria, aided by Ruth Bennett in the pit, which seemed to float down from the Academy of Music’s highest reaches. Lindsey Reynolds brought comic panache and impressive acuti to La Contessa di Folleville. Katherine Beck was a rich-voiced, haughty Marchesa Melibea, and Ben Brady made an extraordinary impression with Don Profundo's "Medaglie incomparabili", a classic Rossini patter song, envisioned here as an auctioneer's spiel.

The large company also included veterans like Brenda Rae, portraying the imperious Madame Cortese as an icy gallery owner in a Cruella DeVille wig. Rae can still spin out beautifully sustained soft high-notes, although the overall sound of her light soprano has unfortunately hardened. On the opposite end of the spectrum, tenor Alasdair Kent (Conte di Libenskof) produced passages of lovely legato singing, but high notes tended to fray and bleat. Opera Philadelphia favorite Daniel Belcher was on top vocal form as Barone di Trombonok, though his broad comic style towed even the line of farce.

Special mention goes to baritone Zachary Altman, who replaced an indisposed colleague as Don Prudenzio, singing from an onstage box – although it was slightly distracting to have assistant director Anderson Nunnelley walking the role without lip-syncing. Across the board, though, the direction rarely favored strong characterization, frequently allowing the vivid costumes and scenery (by Paolo Fantin) to do the heavy lifting.

Opera Philadelphia has ambitious plans for this anniversary season, including the world premiere of a new music theater piece by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Michael R Jackson and the first stage appearance of countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo since he became the company’s General Director in 2024. Bringing Michieletto’s vision to America for the first time – and choosing a relatively obscure work for a gala opening night – shows that the troupe is still thinking outside the artistic box, even if the results are sometimes out of focus.