Piazza touching departure from Broadway fare

Opera Nuova’s Edmonton premiere of The Light in the Piazza is a musical that easily measures up against some of the most sophisticated Broadway offerings.

In New York, it scooped six Tony Awards and at the preview performance Thursday at the University of Alberta’s Convocation Hall in the Old Arts Building, it stole the audience’s heart.

In the past five years, there’s been a trend on Broadway to mount fluffy rock-pop musicals that have a greater impact on selling T-shirts than exploring universal human conditions.

Thank God for innovative composer/lyricists such as Adam Guettel (grandson of Richard Rodgers) who dared to take risks and turned his attention to creating a work of art. This lush, romantic musical is not on the level of opera, but it’s definitely more than a few notches above Legally Blonde and Hairspray.

The musical’s great strength is a sweeping score infused with a subtle range of emotional shading that is simply gorgeous. Not to be outdone, Craig Lucas’ book is a guide on tenderness and sublime simplicity that illuminates with a soft glow.

Adapted from the novel by Elizabeth Spencer, Light in the Piazza is set in 1953. Margaret Johnson, a rich American and her unusually naive daughter Clara are touring Florence and Rome.

Strolling in a piazza with an alfresco café, they are enthralled by bohemians, businessmen, priests and lovers. Clara throws her hat in the air and Fabrizio Naccarelli, a shy young local rushes to catch it. From the moment their eyes lock, they fall in love.

But Clara is not quite what she seems. When she was 12, she was kicked in the head by a pony. Although a fully-grown woman, her mental development froze as a young girl.

As the romance blossoms and it looks as if the two lovers might be heading towards the altar, the overprotective Margaret must decide whether to reveal the secret.

At first glance the plot sounds saccharin, but it is surprisingly touching. Much of the credit goes to director Maralyn Ryan for motivating the actor/singers to achieve moments of pure magic. More is conveyed in a tender look, a gentle touch or an unspoken work than the panting, bra-ripping affairs we’re usually fed.

The entire cast has a remarkable chemistry and sings in Italian and English. Elaina Moreau’s Clara is the perfect mix of beauty, innocence and charm without guile. Aaron Hutton’s Fabrizio is suitably determined yet tentative.

And Adanya Dunn’s Margaret — it is through her eyes that the story unfolds — is superb at scaling the full range of human emotion through voice and gesture.

Giovanni Spanu’s portrayal of patriarch Signor Naccarelli is both humorous and provocative and Nola Shantz’s Signora Naccarelli is insightful. Anton Mamine’s brother Giuseppe is rightly caddish and Krysta Mellon’s Franca justly reveals the anger of a scorned woman.

The only flat note is that the performers were not miked and occasionally the live eight-piece orchestra drowned out the vocals. And Cory Sinncennes’ set of Roman pillars and modern screen was a mish-mash of elements that didn’t quite work.

Although not a perfect production, the thundering applause at the finale was the best indicator that talent, daring and originality outshines flaws and illuminates the best in Light in the Piazza.