Opera Philadelphia’s ‘The Seasons’ blends Vivaldi with a new climate story

Opera Philadelphia staged “The Seasons,” a Vivaldi-based pastiche with a new story by Sarah Ruhl and the countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, at the Perelman Theater in Philadelphia. The piece, which premiered at Boston Lyric Opera in March, scrambles Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” with other Baroque arias and choral works and sets Ruhl’s new words in English, Italian and Latin.

The Ruhl-Costanzo story follows five artists at a country retreat — the Poet (Costanzo), the Painter (Kangmin Justin Kim), the Choreographer (Megan Moore), the Farmer/actress (Abigail Raiford) and the Performance Artist (Whitney Morrison) — along with the allegorical Cosmic Weatherman (John Mburu).

The production gathered collaborators including set designer Mimi Lien, choreographer Pam Tanowitz and director Zack Winokur, and used bubble machines and a design by Jack Forman to conjure snow, rain, smoke and ice, with lighting by John Torres. The flute soloist Emi Ferguson drew particular notice; Corrado Rovaris’s conducting and a vocal mix dominated by upper registers were other prominent elements.

The New York Times review described the production as intermittently thrilling but ultimately a jumble. It praised moments such as an Act I blizzard, in which Costanzo’s performance of the “Farnace” aria “Gelido in ogni vena” and the bubble effects conveyed real chill, but said the choreography and musical balance struggle to convey the extremes of Act II.

Key Topics

Culture, Opera Philadelphia, Sarah Ruhl, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Vivaldi, Perelman Theater