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Allegra De Vita Allegra Reviews The Most Happy Fella by New york City Opera  Opera, Operetta, or Musical Theater? The Most Happy Fella has quite an identity crisis. It opens with a large, typically 1950s musical number that is followed quite closely by the quintessence of a light opera soprano "yearning ballad." Putting that aside, however, the plot is quite nice, combining a pinch of Italian, a dash of suspense and a large helping of love, much like the amazing wedding spread for poor Rosabella. All of the actors do a magnificent job portraying the characters exactly how I believe that Frank Loesser (bless his soul) would like it. Paul Sorvino swept my Italian father and me away to a little wine vineyard lifted right from the hills of Calabria. I greatly enjoyed the Italian-English performance by the happy Italian chefs. They added a colorful and somewhat comedic touch to the opera-operetta-musical theater that was reminiscent of the bumbling three Chinese counselors in Turandot. While my father really loved the plot, as a 16-year-old woman I initially found the main love story of a May-December marriage less than appealing. It echoes famous opera romances such as Tristan und Isolde, where the young woman falls for the handsome young emissary and is surprised by an older bridegroom. The ending, though, is far from tragic. Rosabella eventually finds qualities in Tony to appreciate and ultimately love. As for the music -- kudos to Frank Loesser! Each song delivers an amazing portrayal of the character. Even the song titles, such as "Joey, Joey, Joey" sung by none other than Joe, and "Rosabella" sung by Tony, show they are marvelous portrait songs. Joe is a pompous and, in my opinion, extremely handsome young man who only thinks of himself and his well-being. While Tony, who is not so handsome, has his head and heart only filled with his love, Rosabella. The up-tempo song "Big D" sung by Cleo and Herman epitomize the musical theater tune, complete with dancing cowboys. Marie is characterized by her interfering sibling affection when she sings to Tony about "Young People" as she attempts to persuade him out of loving little Rosabella. She does not succeed in dampening TonyÕs dreams, however, and the show comes to a close with a rising, happy finale. In conclusion, this is the perfect show to convert those exuberant musical theatergoers who believe that opera consists of pleasingly plump people in Viking hats with earsplitting voices. |