Michael Halbig

Trouble in Tahiti, Bernstein’s first opera, plunges the audience into the abyss of a dysfunctional marriage against the backdrop of an arcadian postwar American suburb. Annapolis Opera’s earnest production made a strong case for the opera’s continued relevance today. Baritone Timothy Mix and mezzo-soprano Alice Chung led the cast as Sam and Dinah, the quarreling couple whose dynamic comes under the microscope in Tahiti. The opera recounts a day in the life of the two characters, beginning with breakfast, followed by a day at the office and the gym (Sam) and a visit to a psychoanalyst and the movies (Dinah), and concluding with the couple going to the movies together. Craig Kier, who marks his fifth year as artistic and music director of Annapolis Opera in 2025, conducted the company’s nine-person orchestra with verve, offering peppy renditions of Tahiti’s jazzy numbers and an ethereal “I Was Standing in a Garden,” Dinah’s account of a dream.

Mix’s studied portrayal of Sam gave the audience greater insight into the character. His stentorian baritone lent heft to “There’s a Law,” Sam’s paean to competitive masculine virility. Adopting a mask of emotional restraint, Mix deployed a full, prideful sound to great effect. Gone were any of the humanizing attributes that characterized his delivery in the previous scene’s duet, in which Mix put on a brave face for Chung’s Dinah but tremulously revealed a more deep-rooted hurt. Mix’s ease in revealing and camouflaging the feelings of his character effectively conveyed the influence of societal pressure on men to avoid displays of emotion.

Chung probed Dinah’s psychological depths in “I Was Standing in a Garden,” her lithe voice shifting from haunted to tranquil. Chung’s electric performance of “What a Movie!,” Dinah’s recounting of watching a stereotyped 1950s adventure film, was a crowd-pleaser. Her propulsive energy convincingly betrayed Dinah’s interest in a movie that the character professes to dislike.

Michael Halbig

Soprano Amanda Densmoor, tenor Patrick Kilbride, and baritone Rolfe Dauz had excellent chemistry as the Trio, Tahiti’s jazz-inspired 1950s Greek chorus. Their tightly stitched harmonies maximized the potential of these roles, which demand close collaboration. The smooth polish of this Trio added panache to their expository remarks and comments on consumer culture. Densmoor soared to new heights in singing Bernstein’s seemingly extemporaneous scatting and would not have been out of place in a jazz club.

Matthew J. Schulz’s direction kept the opera buzzing along and effectively leveraged physical distance and posture to illustrate the barriers keeping Sam and Dinah apart. Scenery and lighting by Christopher Brusberg thoughtfully evoked the idylls of suburban life with silhouetted houses, vintage advertisements, and the archetypical white picket fences, here arranged more ominously as a pen trapping the orchestra. The imprisonment of the Trio behind it at the end of the opera provided a fitting coda to this suburban satire. Classic mid-century furniture replete with gleaming chrome and vintage costumes straight out of Mad Men (a costume designer was not listed in the program) took the audience back in time.

Annapolis Opera presented Tahiti as the second half of a double bill that also featured a collection of other songs by Bernstein, many written for the Broadway stage. These selections complemented Bernstein’s opera of married suburban life by exploring other themes of love and relationships. The company interspersed the songs with spoken quotes from Bernstein and individuals identified only in the program as “his confidants.” These added depth, particularly an excerpt from a letter written by Felicia Montealegre Bernstein on the subject of the composer’s sexual orientation, but presented without attributions or context, this spoken word component risked going over the head of those who are not diehard Bernstein aficionados.

Michael Halbig

Densmoor opened the program with “I’m a Person Too” from Bernstein’s I Hate Music! cycle, and her clarion voice elegantly expressed the song’s humor. Her intoxicating take on “Dream with Me,” written for Bernstein’s 1950 musical Peter Pan, was a tonic to the cynicism of Tahiti. Kilbride’s glowing rendition of “I Go On” from Bernstein’s Massshowcased his luxurious tones, which he also deployed to golden effects in Bernstein’s “I Know a Fellow,” written in the 1940s and not part of a musical.

Dauz and Chung’s duet in “Ohio,” an ode to a Midwestern home left behind in Wonderful Town (1953), was a highlight of the evening, their rich, warm voices eloquently conjuring nostalgia and homesickness. Mix’s plaintive delivery of “Story of My Life,” written for the same musical, was another treat. Schulz’s engaging blocking energized Bernstein’s songs with a new spirit, particularly his rousing choreography to “Ya Got Me” from On the Town (1944), performed by the whole cast. A static recital in front of music stands this was not. The program succeeded in recontextualizing Tahiti as part of a broader project from Bernstein of reflecting on human connections, respecting the 1950s setting while universalizing its themes.