American composer John Corigliano, best known to most for composing the score to the 1999 film The Red Violin, composed The Ghosts of Versailles (libretto by William H. Hoffman) on commission from the Metropolitan Opera as a celebration of its rich history. Even though the star-laden 1991 premiere was well received by audiences and critics, more than twenty years passed before it was next produced on a New York stage – and Chautaqua’s own Jay Lesenger was the stage director for its New York revival, with the tremendous support and commitment of Artistic Director Dona Vaughn, Producer Gordon Ostrowski, and MSM President Robert Sirota.

Mr. Lesenger and conductor Steven Osgood collaborated to create a remarkable production of this American masterpiece at the Manhattan School of Music. Both Mr. Corigliano, an alumnus of the school, and Mr. Hoffman were in attendance, and both “loudly proclaimed themselves greatly impressed by what had been done with their work,” according to a review by the Jamestown Post-Journal’s Robert Plyler (full review here).

Part of the reason for the long hiatus is the massive scope of the work. For instance, even though this production made use of a reduced version of the score, MSM’s 50-piece orchestra pit wasn’t nearly large enough – the harpist, the electronic keyboards, and the entire percussion section had to be piped in from another floor in the building. However, thanks to the ingenuity of the technical crew, the results were seamless, according to both Mr. Plyler and New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini (full review here).

Both critics were likewise impressed with Mr. Lesenger’s fluid interpretation of the complex and eclectic piece. Tommasini commented that the “young, inspired singers threw themselves into the work,” which was “colorful and fluidly staged;” in a similar vein, Plyler noted that “Lesenger’s direction provided a clean, easy to understand flow of the activities of the opera,” enthusiastically praising both the power of the stage picture throughout and the crispness with which the complicated work flowed from beginning to end.

In addition, the critics agreed on the superb performances by the singers. While stressing that the work is very dependent upon the entire ensemble and that individual performances were all superb, Tommasini noted in particular that “Cree Carrico as Marie, Gideon Dabi as Beaumarchais, Brett Sprague and Rebecca Krynski as the Count and Countess Almaviva, Nickoli Strommer as the resourceful Figaro and Kaitlyn Costello-Fain as his pert Susanna were among the standouts.” Plyler also singled out Ms. Carrico for her “elegance and … great warmth,” the “rich baritone” of Gideon Dabi, and the comic instincts of Mr. Strommer. (Both Messrs. Dabi and Strommer were members of the 2011 Chautauqua Young Artist Program.)

From enthusiastic ovations from sold-out crowds to the warm endorsement of both composer and librettist to the glowing reviews of the critics, The Ghosts of Versailles was a great success all around. Thanks to all who came to see it and congratulations to all the artists who took part!