Publication Date: Friday Feb 16, 2001

Of shamans and charlatans

In the first act, Tartuffe is this sanctimonious, holier-than-thou guy who gets held up by just about everyone as the poster child for religious piety. By the third act, the jig is up and Tartuffe is exposed as a lecherous fraud, leaving him little choice but to decamp for friendlier environs and leave the truly decent people in peace. The plot of the Moliere play-turned-opera is the kind of juicy story that the media swarm over and the general public can't quite seem to get enough of these days.

No wonder, then, that "Tartuffe," first performed in 1980, has become one of the most popular operas ever written by an American, performed nearly 200 times (West Bay Opera's opening-night performance tonight will be number 200 exactly) and translated into German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Czech.

But while composer Kirke Mechem has published some 250 works in almost every musical form, 'Tartuffe' is his maiden foray into opera.

"I had never really gotten the opera bug until I saw the American Conservatory Theater's production of the play "Tartuffe" in the 1970s," Mechem recalls. "I have always liked Moliere's plays, especially 'Tartuffe,' but not until I saw the ACT production in San Francisco did I realize that it had wonderful possibilities for comic opera--that it was, in fact, a comic opera just waiting for the music."

Mechem, who conducted and taught at Stanford and was for several years composer-in-residence at the University of San Francisco, cites the play's comedic sensibility and pacing as central reasons for his enthusiasm. But he reserves his highest praise for Moliere's characters.

"It has characters that are both universal and individual. If that sounds like a paradox, so be it. Tartuffe, for instance, is the universal con man whom we still see today in many guises: political (Nixon), religious (televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart) etc. Orgon is the quintessential middle-aged man in mid-life crisis, the man who is losing his power over his family, and to regain power allies himself with a righteous guru."

Belmont resident James Akin, in the title role, adds to Mechem's enthusiasm for Moliere's characters.

"First of all, it is my all-time favorite role. He's a con man, a religious hypocrite exposed for what he is. Tartuffe's appeal for me is that he gives me a chance to be something that I'm not. It's fun to be manipulative and scheming."

Akin must really relish a bit of scheming, as he's assumed the role of Tartuffe in three different productions--first for Opera San Jose 15 years ago, and more recently in collaboration with David Sloss (the musical director for the West Bay Opera production) for the National Opera Association in Sonoma.

Still, Akin is hardly resting on his laurels. He and Sloss have reinvented the character for this production.

"When I did it initially, the character of Tartuffe was directed very much over the top. It bordered on a slapstick approach. What we're doing now is building a more self-righteous subtlety. Actually, we're finding that it's much funnier if you play this man as if he's really a self-righteous character. Over-the-top comedy requires physical skill and being vocally adept, but it's more of an acting job to approach Tartuffe this way, because you have to make him more believable."

Palo Alto resident Eric Coyne, in the role of Orgon, echoes Akin's sentiments.

"While there are many similarities with the play, I feel that the opera is superior in terms of how it develops the characters' relationships. The relationship that Orgon has with his children is so well worked out in the opera. Under the stage direction of Kenneth Tigar, the acting is being done very realistically so that we don't descend into farce."

Although Mechem praises Richard Wilbur's English translation of Moliere's play, he needed to begin anew when he chose to craft the play as an opera. Cutting out nearly half the play's words, rearranging scenes so that acts end with an ensemble piece (a common feature of comic opera), he ditched the Alexandrine rhyming couplets in favor of a broader variety of verse forms.

Mechem notes, "I did not begin with any predetermined harmonic scheme, other than the music would be tonal, fun and that I would spoof some opera conventions. The musical "leitmotifs" were just the result of my trying to find the appropriate musical description of each character."

Not surprisingly, Coyne describes his role as vocally demanding.

"It straddles the line between drama and comedy. Some of the singing is extremely declamatory, almost Wagnerian. Other scenes are very light, almost comic--it's a part that has almost everything in it."

"Mechem wrote 'Tartuffe' in a key that's perfect for my voice. It sits in the sweet spot of my voice most of the time, and that's a real pleasure," counters Akin, a math teacher at Ralston Middle School in Belmont.

"But," he adds, "The music is extremely challenging, you really feel like you've accomplished something. Anyone else who's done this piece would agree with me. 'Tartuffe' is a real accomplishment, like climbing a mountain for a mountain climber. There's a real high."

What: West Bay Opera presents "Tartuffe" in English with supertitles

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto

When: Feb. 16-18 and 23-25. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $36, with a special $18 youth ticket (for those under 18) for Sunday matinees only.

Call: (650) 967-4040 

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