Boston Lyric Opera's 'Abduction' is on the right track

Whether you look at it from a technical or a dramatic standpoint, Boston Lyric Opera's (BLO) production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Abduction of the Seraglio is in continuous motion. Literally.

While retaining the original text and music (though it is performed in English rather than German), BLO has updated the story from 16th century Turkey to the 1920s.The action is set within the cars of the Orient Express as it chugs its from Istanbul to Paris. The intricately designed train moves with every twist in events, making for a visually stimulating and thought-provoking evening of entertainment.

Though the plot of Abduction is complex, placing the story on a train helps to simplify character relationships and allows the modern audience to see how the piece fits into the greater scheme of cultural history. The opera tells the story of the women trapped in the harem of Pasha Selim, namely Konstanze and her maidservant Blonde, and how the men they love help them escape from a life of confinement.

As Konstanze, soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot brilliantly displayed the ice-cold distance between her character and the Pasha, never once making eye contact with him as she yearns for her true love, Belmonte. Cabot sounded like she was having some vocal trouble during Act I, as her opening aria was not particularly crisp and seemed choked at times.

But Cabot must have warmed up during intermission; she sounded like a completely different singer when she returned for the second and third acts. Her delivery of the famous aria "Martern aller Arten" was laced with impeccable coloratura and dramatic finesse. In the aria, Konstanze describes the intense pain that the Pasha has caused her, explaining that she would rather die than be with him.

The scenario would have been intensely bone-chilling had it not been for the Pasha's simultaneous attempt to present Konstanze with fancy garments to placate to her anger, which served as a distraction to the moment.

Cabot's voice was so strong and dramatic that it dominated during ensemble sections of the opera, which proved problematic because it was very difficult to hear what the other characters _ particularly soprano Cyndia Sieden's Blonde _ were saying. This was quite a shame, as Sieden did not have very many solo arias to show off her incredibly beautiful light and smooth tone.

Sieden and tenor Harold Gray Meers as Pedrillo made for an adorable couple, particularly in their charming portrayal of gender stereotypes of the '20s era. Sieden, in particular, made an impact even when she wasn't singing, creating an intensely humorous character to counter the Konstanze's gravity.

Bass Gustav Andreassen, as Osmin, the overseer of the harem, also contributed to the comedic side of the production. Instead of being a threat to those who tried to enter the harem, Andreassen played Osmin as the fool, cleverly using clumsy movement, and his impressive low range to evoke laughter from the audience. And tenor Eric Cutler's Belmonte played a dashing leading man, continually gaining confidence both as a singer and an actor throughout the evening.

Abduction has historically represented a bridge between cultures, in that it incorporates strains of ethnic Turkish music within the standards of European operatic form. The train setting helps reinforces this notion, and the change in era allows the modern audience to comprehend the timelessness of the deeper themes at hand.

But while the train setting was the key to making this production so interesting, it hindered other aspects of the performance. Splitting the stage into two cars created an awkward mid-stage wall that made it difficult for the singers to blend during the ensemble numbers _ particularly the Act II quartet between Konstanze, Blonde, Pedrillo, and Belmonte.

The design scheme also left little place to put the chorus. Having a large group of singers enter the train car at various moments would interrupt the dramatic integrity of the story, so the chorus members served as onlookers each time the train stopped at a station. Because of this, the chorus seemed to get lost in the shuffle, minimizing the impact of some of the greatest music in the opera.

The number one achievement of this production of The Abduction From the Seraglio is that it represented yet another step in making a home for opera in the twentieth century. As companies like BLO continue to mount innovative productions of classic repertoire, the public will discover that they can, in fact, identify with seemingly foreign characters and stories.