One look at the program and I was thoroughly confused. There were no names for the faces! It was only Soprano, Countertenor, Tenor, and Bass. I was like" GAH! Confusing! So you really had to study each face to understand who was singing what and try to find some continuity. Thus I have not included a synopsis because there was really no need for one. As the director Mark Morris explains in the director's notes, "King Arthur is here presented as a pageant- a sort of vaudeville- a sequence of production numbers sacred and profane, small and large, sad and happy, sung and danced...The setting is the stage. The time is now. The performers are themselves."

Taking the director's words to heart, I was not surprised as singers and dancers sauntered from the wings wearing clothes straight from the gorgeous, grungy (yet excruciatingly expensive) pits of Urban Outfitters. This, I presume, was supposed to mirror a contemporary rehearsal of sorts as the performers sat in a perfect semicircle in front of the curtain. The curtain opened to a stage full of dancers shipped straight from the floor of the amazing Mark Morris Dance Group and the show began.

While the main focus of the opera seemed to be the extensive dance numbers, there were some very talented singers thrown in the mix as well. Daniel Mobbs, a talented baritone, rocked the refrigerator costume with his great vocal technique. He was had a very consistent legato line and good dynamics. Lestyn Davies had a lovely voice, probably my favorite countertenor that I've heard to date. The soprano duet at the top of Act II between Sarah McMahon and Heidi Stober (at least I believe it was them! ACK!) was really very lovely. Their voices blended very well and they colored the words" come, follow me" with a lush seductive style. Mhairi Lawson in her final number did a great job as an impish little boy dressed in a purple sailor suit with a blonde page-boy haircut running around pulling Daniel Mobbs out of his emo-licious refrigerator of arctic loneliness. She looked adorable and sang with a boyish confidence that was in perfect tune with her outfit!

Onto the dancers! They, under the watchful direction of Mark Morris and the impeccable baton of Jane Glover, did a marvelous job. Even though they danced their complex and rich choreography behind the singers, they never detracted from the singer's performances. They were subtle when accompanying the singers yet burst to life during their own musical solo interludes. Possibly my favorite piece of choreography was in the beautiful scene where they danced around the Mayflower pole, adding elegance and refinement to a difficult peasant dance.

I highly commend Morris on his choreography skills. From the most complex dances to the simple shaking of a head, every movement clearly had a meaning. There was no reason to look at the subtitles because you could easily discern the motives and intentions of each and every scene.

I recommend this opera/ modern dance production to any dancer or singer who would love to see a beautiful union of dance and opera.