He’s not mistaken: “L’Amant Anonyme,” a romantic comedy a couple of secret admirer alongside the traces of “The Store Across the Nook,” is frothy and enjoyable, as straightforward and forgettable as an episode of “Bridgerton,” with pleasurable arias all through its brisk 90 minutes. The plot nods to class distinction with out making something significant of it. That may be an excessive amount of friction for an opera that doesn’t seem to aspire to something greater than leisure.
The staging at Opera Philadelphia, a co-production with Boston Lyric Opera, leans closely into comedy. Known as “The Nameless Lover,” its spoken dialogue was tailored into English by the playwright Kirsten Greenidge, whose textual content, mixed with Dennis Whitehead Darling’s route, packs fun into each minute. (The arias, discordantly, stay in French.)
Within the orchestra pit on Sunday afternoon, Kalena Bovell led a pleasantly flowing account of the rating, as if it have been an prolonged dance reasonably than a narrative punctuated by musical numbers. That’s becoming for a narrative that unfolds as a single gesture: Valcour, the nameless lover of the title, revealing himself to his good friend Léontine, after a number of years of items and letters. Léontine, like Meg Ryan within the “Store Across the Nook”-inspired “You’ve Received Mail,” needed it to be him so badly. They find yourself collectively, and blissful.
The secondary characters additionally couple up: the scheming pals Ophémon and Dorothée, sung by the baritone Johnathan McCullough and the mezzo-soprano Solar-Ly Pierce, each with limitless charisma, and the engaged lovers Colin and Jeannette, charmingly tender within the tenor Joshua Blue’s and the soprano Ashley Marie Robillard’s interpretations.
Probably the most openhearted, dramatic arias are reserved for the central couple. The tenor Travon D. Walker’s Valcour was by turns burning with want and endearing as he dithered on the way in which to declaring his love. As Léontine, the soprano Symone Harcum had a job that demanded extra virtuosity, which she rose to with blended success.
What, now, for “L’Amant Anonyme”? Its post-2020 wave of productions is ebbing, and in contrast to Bologne’s fantastic violin concertos, it’s extra skillful than authentic. As an opera, it’s additionally rather more troublesome to revive.
There’s no query, although, about whether or not it ought to return. The opera repertoire will be cussed, however it wants the occasional confection like this. On the very least, “L’Amant Anonyme” doesn’t need to be ignored for therefore lengthy once more.
