West Side Story
At Queen Elizabeth Theatre until Oct. 29
Tickets: 604.683.0222, vancouveropera.ca
The sobbing of someone near me in the QE had this crusty old critic misting up at the end of West Side Story. But the singing and dancing are so sublime you may also want to weep for pleasure: exhilarating, dangerous, muscular, sexy and dynamic. Latin rhythms collide with American jazz; angry rants yield to sweetly soaring love songs. And, at the heart of it all, is a Romeo and Juliet romance.
This Vancouver Opera production is a full-scale Broadway musical with the original Jerome Robbins choreography. Whether West Side Story is a musical or a modern opera is debatable, but theres unanimous agreement on one point: with music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story is unquestionably the pinnacle of achievement in musical theatre in 20th-century America.
One wag suggested that this VO production would just be dancers lifting fat ladies. Not so. The stage is packed with triple threats: performers who act, sing and dance brilliantly. There are three dozen such multi-talented artists on stage plus a 30-piece VO orchestra, under the direction of Leslie Dala. Costumes are kaleidoscopic. The lighting is gorgeous. Director Ken Cazans decision to keep it anchored in the 1950shairstyles, costumes and dancingfeels so right. But with constantly feuding gangs, West Side Story is as relevant here and now as it was in 1957 when it opened on Broadway.
Lucia Cesaroni (as Maria) and Colin Ainsworth (Tony) are two of only three operatically trained voices in the company. Their voices soar beautifully in One Hand One Heart and individually in Maria (Ainsworth) and I Feel Pretty (Cesaroni). Its a bit of a shock to hear young, girlish Maria burst into a mature operatic voice but one can hardly complain about such perfection. Absolute dynamite is Cleopatra Williams as Anita.
This is an ambitious, exciting foray for Vancouver Opera. My 14-year-old guest agreed that even a half-century old, West Side Story is a powerful story of our time. Her time.
joled@telus.net
