Partenope: Can You Handel It?

The San Francisco Opera's latest foray into the challenging and musically rich world of Baroque opera opened last week with George Frideric Handel's "Partenope." The well-cast, attractive, and exceptionally witty production, first staged at English National Opera in 2008, won an Olivier award as Best New Opera Production in 2009, and it has obviously held up well during the interim.

Christopher Alden's marvelously stylish, often risque and endlessly inventive direction moves Handel's rarely performed romantic comedy forward in time some 200 years to the glittering 1920s Paris of salons, Surrealists and sexual ambiguity. There are lots of references to the art world of the Dadaists, Marcel Duchamp, and especially American modernist Man Ray, that sleekly define the look of the production (set designer: Andrew Lieberman) and allow some surprisingly timeless and insightful looks into the moral ambiguity of the confused (and often confusing) characters.

Handel's libretto surrounds the titular (oh-la-la) soprano role with a collection of suitors - one of whom is a woman dressed as a man - keeping tabs on one another; a handsome prince who has left her at the altar; one who starts as her sworn enemy; and a would-be Casanova who hasn't the courage to tell her. Sounds more like Offenbach than Handel, and Alden picks up on the deliciously sly possibilities with every trick and physical joke he can find appropriate to the period.

The Roaring 1920s certainly keep Partenope's busy salon energized with le jazz hot. Martinis, the Charleston, voguish posing, and visual takes borrowed from the cinema of Harold Lloyd and glamorous Hollywood musicals fill the stage with amusing detail. It takes awhile for the audience to match the musical content to the direction, but by the time the final curtain falls, everyone is in synch with the amazing matchup. Alden is naughty, brilliant and sometimes a little adolescent in his humor, but the whole concept works to clarify a sometimes bewildering but good-hearted story about the war between the sexes, and the battle between reason and emotion.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with soprano Danielle de Niese returning to the War Memorial in a deserved starring role, and favorite countertenor David Daniels looking and sounding terrific as her preferred suitor. There are some delightful standouts in the rest of the ensemble, notably tenor Alek Shrader as Partenope's enemy-turned-supporter, and most especially countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo making his SFO debut in a part that makes both extraordinary physical and vocal demands.

Mezzo Daniela Mack as the jilted Rosmira looks convincing in drag despite the pencil moustache, and she is also obviously at home in a real girl's dress after the, how shall we put it?, reveal in Act III. Her voice is steady and full-bodied, and her acting is believable. Like all the characters, Mack's Rosmira gets plenty of opportunity to show off, and she nails her arias with rich tone and crisp ornamentation.

Shrader also has a fine voice that combines both power and purity. He proves himself to be adept at physical comedy, whether lying on his back in a yoga posture or singing one of his difficult arias through the transom window above a locked water-closet door.

Cute-as-a-button Anthony Roth Costanzo beats him with arias sung while falling upstairs, tap dancing like Fred Astaire, and declaring his love shirtless from a balcony. He also isn't afraid to customize his voice to the part, injecting a whining nasal quality that clearly isn't his natural sound.

As the captain of Partenope's guards, current Adler Fellow Philippe Sly is changed here to be her gay best friend, and while he gets fewer moments in the spotlight, he is always an attraction. Wait till you see his get-up before the duel in Act III!

Of course, we have come to expect elegance and excellence in David Daniels' Handel performances, and he doesn't disappoint. His Arsace has some of the loveliest music in the score, and he relishes every moment with an often-wistful quality that touches our hearts.

Danielle de Niese has the looks and vocal allure to make Partenope a signature role, and despite a few (really only a few) moments of slight breathiness at the top of her register, she sails through the long evening looking and sounding every bit the glamorous vamp.

Conductor Julian Wachner in his SFO debut keeps things moving right along, while highlighting some very pleasing detail. If you think Baroque opera isn't your cup of tea, "Partenope" just might change your mind and switch you to champagne.