(c) Ohio Light Opera
The Wazir of Police (Boyd Mackus, left) shows off Lalume (Raina Thorne), his wife of wives, in Ohio Light Opera's production of "Kismet."
Kismet, the season-opener for of the Ohio Light Opera, showed in the most tuneful way possible why this ensemble opera company continues to attract musical theatre lovers to Wooster College. From the dramatic opening in the darkened theatre with cast members singing as they walked slowly down the aisles, to the comically satirsfying ending, the show paid lyric tribute to the score’s gorgeous and lush melodies by Alexander Borodin. “Baubles, bangles, and beads,” “Stranger in paradise ” and more still sound fresh and new.
The story is silly. Basically, a wandering poet (Cory Clines) and his daughter (Chelsea Basler) become entangled in the affairs of the heart at the court of the Caliph. It’s an Arabian Nights fantasy complete with a wicked Wazir of Police (delightfully overplayed by Boyd Mackus) who gets what’s coming to him. The quartet with Mackus, Clines, Basler and the Caliph (Drake Dantzler) singing “And this is my beloved” is romantic enough to soften even the most cynical heart.
[Morning Journal, Lorain, July 4, 2010, scroll down]
