A Stylish ‘Bride’ Hits the Met but the Pews Are Half Empty

There were lots of empty seats Wednesday night at the Metropolitan Opera House. That came as something of a shock, for the vehicle on display was “The Bartered Bride,” lovingly revived this season after an 18-year absence. Peter G. Davis, the discerning critic of New York magazine, had described the production as “the hit of the opening week.”

So why did the masses stay away?

Perhaps it was the competition on television--the presidential debate in San Diego or, more likely, the Braves-Cardinals pennant game.

Perhaps it was the relative obscurity of Smetana’s innocent and sunny folk opera, a popular staple when introduced here in 1909--by none less than Gustav Mahler--but now a general object of all-American neglect.

Perhaps it was the withdrawal of Teresa Stratas, an enormously talented but chronically unpredictable mini-diva more famous at this stage of her long career for her cancellations than for her performances.

Perhaps it was the $190 top ticket.

Perhaps it was all of the above. Or none. In any case, the absentees were the losers. The Met is paying exceptionally stylish attention these days to Smetana’s exquisitely sentimental comedy.

Shadowing Mahler’s momentous footsteps, James Levine conducts with brio dazzling enough to make one forgive his occasional hasty excesses and his tendency to let the virtuoso orchestra overpower the only-human singers. The massive Met chorus, trained by Raymond Hughes, exults in an extraordinarily lusty, ever-gutsy sound, and the beleaguered Met ballet brings amusing panache to the ongoing funny business concocted by Pavel Smok (including a silly-circus “Swan Lake” parody).

The 1978 production, still credited to the late John Dexter though now overseen by David Kneuss, is a streamlined, budget-conscious endeavor, the action neatly focused on a nearly barren stage. Josef Svoboda’s setting tells all--well, almost all--with a few props, a revolving disc and a vast, sky-blue cyclorama. Only Jan Skalicky’s charming lavish-peasant costumes attest to the tradition of conspicuous consumption at the Met.

Although the entire cast is essentially strong, the show was stolen on this occasion--stolen with irresistible warmth, chubby wit and good-humored restraint--by the tenor assigned the secondary duties of Vasek.

The guileless stuttering fool is normally played for laughs by a light-voiced buffo specialist; here he was played for pathos by Vladimir Bogachov--last encountered, post-Domingo, as a genuinely plangent Otello and Canio at the Music Center. The former Bolshoi hero made the most of his modest challenge (that’s an understatement) and, not incidentally, offered object lessons in the articulation of Tony Harrison’s rather odd English translation.

With the mighty Bogachov exerting such mellifluous force as little Vasek, the far more lyrical David Kuebler looked and sounded a bit fragile in the primary duties of Jenik. Slender, sympathetic and reasonably ardent, he capped the romantic line with ringing high notes. Apart from the agitated climaxes, however, his tone seemed a bit dry and wan.

Gwynne Geyer, who inherited the title role by default from the indisposed (not disposed?) Stratas, is hardly a timid understudy. Spunky and bright, plump and pretty, she goes about Marenka’s intricate chores with enlightened authority, and she traces the soaring cantilena with a sweet, pliant, lustrous soprano.

With time, she may find more light and shade in the text--musical as well as verbal--and she could learn to spin out the long reflective phrases with more of a pianissimo shimmer. The signs are promising.

Paul Plishka blustered with solid basso bonhomie as Kecal, the busy marriage broker, and earned gratitude for sidestepping the usual clown traps. Korliss Uecker simpered pleasantly as Esmeralda, the little-peep vamp in the circus, and LeRoy Lehr commanded instant attention as the stentorian cigar-store Indian. Also imposing in well-defined minor roles were Rosalind Elias, Julien Robbins, Stephanie Blythe, Timothy Nolen and Peter Kazaras.

It was a good night at the opera. Too bad so many had to miss it.

* Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride,” staged by the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Remaining performances tonight, Thursday, Oct. 28, Nov. 1. (212) 362-6000.