已经有一年了“West Side Story.”Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed电影改编, released in December, brought Leonard Bernstein andStephen Sondheim‘s jazzy, evocative treatment of “Romeo and Juliet” back to the forefront of the cultural conversation, reminding many people whythe piece is so eternally beloved也许赢得了一些新的奉献者。
Now comes Opera San José with a somewhat different take on the same material. The production that opened Saturday, April 16, at the California Theatre gives the piece a buoyant, stylish sheen that maintains its theatrical polish without sacrificing any of its heart.
So is “West Side Story” an opera, then?
好吧，不。伯恩斯坦（Bernstein）的得分thr脚以百老汇的不安，节奏狂热的节拍，不可允许的是至今已延续到1950年代。桑德海姆（Sondheim）的歌词和亚瑟·劳伦斯（Arthur Laurents）的书类似地注入了美国音乐剧的惯例。
But it isn’t exactly不是an opera, either. Even at his most populist, Bernstein’s musical sensibilities were always steeped in the classical repertoire, and “West Side Story” is studded with allusions that can slip past you in a movie theater or on a Broadway stage, but suddenly register in the opera house.
There are clear invocations of“Tosca,”“La Bohème” and (aptly enough) Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.” The magical moment at the dance when Tony and Maria meet and the rest of the world falls away is a direct lift from the analogous spot in Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique.”
These echoes don’t alter the listener’s experience particularly — they’re too insidery and fleeting for that — but they affirm that “West Side Story” has enough classical content not to seem out of place on the operatic stage. And the Opera San José production, which crosses stylistic boundaries with joyful aplomb, only reinforces that sense.
The conclusion registered most clearly in the performances of the two principals — not coincidentally, the most definitively operatic roles in the piece. Tenor Noah Stewart delivered an ardent, expressively fluid performance as Tony, bringing an air of eager anticipation to the jouncy phrases of “Something’s Coming” and caressing the melody of “Maria” with sensuous abandon.
作为玛丽亚（Maria），女高音特雷莎·卡斯蒂略（Teresa Castillo）在动作的24小时内开花，让观众听到角色从庇护女孩到一个恋爱中成年的女人的过渡。构成乐谱的抒情亮点的二重奏 - “今晚”和“一只手，一颗心” - 两位歌手都在表达狂热的温柔表达中融合了声音。
The less overtly operatic vein, meanwhile, was capably handled, especially by Natalie Rose Havens — a tempestuous bundle of physical energy and theatrical panache as Anita — and Antony Sanchez as a commanding, sexy Bernardo. Trevor Martin’s aggressive Riff and Jared V. Esguerra’s timorous Chino made excellent foils, and both gangs — male and female members alike — were made up of vivid, distinctive characters. (No danger here of the occasional feeling “Which one is he again?”)
Conductor Christopher James Ray didn’t always succeed in keeping the score’s precarious offbeat rhythms in sync, but the more sumptuous orchestral passages enjoyed an alluring richness. And the stage production — directed with plenty of kinetic energy by Crystal Manich, and vibrantly choreographed by Michael Pappalardo in a deft blend of Jerome Robbins’ classic original movements and novel innovations — kept the action moving briskly.
As the film version demonstrated, the sociological fault lines of “West Side Story” are tricky to maintain (they were a bit murky even when the piece was new). But the bones of the work, and particularly the endlessly resourceful splendors of Bernstein’s score, are timeless, and this production only underscores the fact.
“West Side Story”:Opera San José. Through May 1. $55-$195. California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose. 408-437-4450.www.operasj.org