photo by Richard Termine
(left to right) Nicholas Coppolo & Hanan Alattar
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Franz Joseph Haydn's "Il Mondo della Luna" (The World on the Moon) is Gotham's latest production and it was stellar. The arguable luminary of the show was the Hayden Planetarium's Zeiss Universarium projector, which made such beautiful star scapes in the early part of the ensnarement of our main character. When Universarium made its entrance, it was very 2001 (as in "Space Odyssey"). But let's discuss the dramatis personae. The creative team that brought this dazzling production to pocket-sized life includes Neal Goren, the artistic director of Gotham Opera, who also conducted the chamber orchestra for the performances, and director Diane Paulus, whose vision was amazingly realized in ultimate minimalism. Video and Production Design reigned supreme in many ways, as Philip Bussmann demonstrated his genius for adding grace notes to Haydn's baroque styles. Anka Lupes' costumes were most interesting-Ecclitico's "traditional" jacket was either white vinyl or a weighted Tyvek-looking substance, though quite period in style for Haydn's time. I especially enjoyed Buonafede's "bloomers" in the final scenes as, after all, even back then they wore something under their clothes. The color was an especially nice choice. Hair and Makeup Design by Hagen Linss was both traditional and futuristic. Andrew Eggert was Paulus' Associate Director.

From the moment our singers entered, we knew we were in for something special. This was chamber opera, after all, and we truly were within 'Il Mondo della Luna'-we were within the sphere of the Hayden Planetarium-gently reclined and treated royally as if we were the Emperors and Empresses of the Moon itself. Personally, I felt like royalty-these singers are close enough to see, 3D high definition humans interacting directly with us as audience. My palace, my orchestra, my singers: that's how I felt experiencing the intimacy of the components. Baroque ballrooms were smaller, and this was a rare experience indeed.

Small spaces require attention to detail and while the sets were minimal, the singers truly needed to be actors. The intimate proximity rendered nuances in expression not only visible but tangible. When performers kissed, mugged, moued and danced, we were all part of the moveable feast. And what a feast it was.

Gotham has access to a wealth of talent, including, in the role of Clarice, the luminous Hanan Alattar, whose smoky beauty, full and rich voice, dramatic control and sparkle was dark fire. Her sister Flaminia, Albina Shagimuratova, commanded the upper ranges with aplomb and delicate technique. Clarice and their maidservant and friend Lisetta, Rachel Calloway, danced together and worked on Flaminia to encourage her to let her hair down and to have some fun. These three women were enchanting in their girl group derring-do on the platform that provided the principal staging area after Universarium exited. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

Featured among the men was Nicholas Coppolo as Ecclitico, the conniving stargazer, who is Clarice' intended. Coppolo is an excellent actor with mobile facial expressions and a lovely tone. Timothy Kuhn played the hale-fellow-well-met Ernesto, a buffo baritone, who is a bit of a dandy as evidenced by his manservant Cecco (Matthew Tuell) producing the most amazing collection of grooming instruments, necessary for the machinations of his master's primping, from a very spare pair of cargo pants. The patriarch and-well-"mark," Buonafede, was played with great humor and mock gravitas by Marco Nisticò.

Neal Goren spoke in the program notes of separating wheat from a bit of chaff in this, Haydn's favorite of his operas. This piece was a lean mean 90 minutes or so with no intermission and felt like a Jules Verne fantasia set by a Baroque virtuoso. The music is among Haydn's best work and the key he's used is E-flat, considered to be evocative, in his time, of sleep and darkness.

Most of the performance takes place in twilight, once Buonafede appropriates Ecclictico's "potion," as provided by the Emperor of the Moon, a masquerade by our dowdy Figaro-esque Cecco. In fact, the Emperor's aria is one of the dark horse treats, as Cecco really came into his own when Tuell commanded the music of the spheres and rotation of the stars to demand Lisetta for his own.

There were elements in this work that were reimagined as Haydn might have staged it, had there been wireless electric lights in his time. There are mod touches with platform shoes-did Sir Elton have a jumble sale?-and creative use of lighting literally in the costumes, with everyone resplendent in variations on white and sparkly silver. Hoop dancers used splendid hoops lit from within to create positive and negative spaces in and around the small stage area, consisting of panels placed over the small circular portal in the middle. There was also a large flat table that acted, at various points, as a stage, along with three moveable staircases that acted as stages, access points and set pieces all at once. These step stages were rotated at various times by assistants in lab coats, the operatic singers and the hoop dancers all at different times. The interior of the orb of the Hayden was both a backdrop and an actor, as hoop dancers combined with amazing graphics that implied and felt like motion. At one point, a colorful display augmented with white hoops and a single one in color, with a rotating overhead aurora, drew a hushed "oooohhhhhh" from the audience members, as they were spellbound, not only by sounds, but by sights as well.

Each singer was a star in his or her own right. Nisticò's Buonafede was both comic and majestic and when Ecclitico was such a showman, pandering to Buonafede's ego regarding his scientific knowledge, their combination was like red wine and chocolate. Ecclitico, Ernesto and Cecco (oh my!) had their duo/trio with a guy bonding number that was reminiscent of the T-Birds in "Grease," where they're talking about wooing and winning and what happens when. Then when Flaminia was being tutored in letting go and having fun by Clarice and Lisetta, Lisetta got into the dance with guts and verve, Clarice was trying to be the lady she is, but gets down as she's thinking of her Ecclitico's charms and, when Flaminia finally literally let her hair down, we got our girl group all right. It was the baroque version of the slumber party scene with the Pink Ladies. The group work in this piece, including quartets, trios, quintets and more, was captivating and each singer had his or her time to shine. This production was Olympian in design, execution and quality and I had a wide grin on my face during the many laugh-out-loud moments and for the entire experience. The genius fusion of elements, including music, technology, human warmth and imagination, is what will fuel the resurgence of opera in the years to come.

At this writing, a single performance of "Il Mondo della Luna" remained, on January 28 at 8 p.m. at the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. The Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History is located in the Rose Center for Earth and Space on West 81st Street (between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue). Tickets are $30-$125 and are available through Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200. Gotham shot for the moon and gave us the stars.