Review: '27' is a Diverting Evening on the Left Bank with Gertrude and Alice B.

In many ways, '27'--the 90-minute the chamber opera about Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas and their circle, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon to a Royce Vavrek libretto--is an old- fashioned love story. It just happens to be about two women who entertained and collected (in all senses) some of the most important visual artists and writers of the first half of the century at a time when Paris was still the hub of the artistic world and 27 rue de Fleurus, the women's home, was its epicenter.

In its local debut at New York City Center last week--adding a chorus (MasterVoices, nee the Collegiate Chorale, on the occasion of its 75th anniversary) for the first time to what had previously been a much more intimate piece--'27' proved a diverting evening. I thought it very well plotted by Vavrek, with sparks of humor, with a musically entertaining and varied score by Gordon, but I just wished they and director James Robinson had been able to bring out more dramatic tension in the setting.

Even the inclusion of a mock trial of Stein--did she collaborate with Vichy France or not, in order to keep herself, Alice and their art collection safe?--and Stein's brother Leo as the villain of the piece (more nasty than the Nazis!) wasn't quite enough to tilt the balance from domestic drama to something more visceral.

Impeccably performed by mezzo Stephanie Blythe as Stein, in a role written specifically for her under a commission from the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) , and soprano Heida Stober as a wonderful Alice, it nonetheless seemed a bit demure than I would have expected, particularly from Blythe. Obviously, Robinson, OTSL's Artistic Director, and Blythe wanted to humanize the larger-than-life Stein, but I'm not sure it worked so well in a house this size.

This was by far the largest venue in which the opera has been performed: a 900-seat house for its 2014 world premiere in St Louis and a site-specific drawing room setting for a production (sans Blythe) in Pittsburgh versus over 2700 places at City Center. I think it suffered from it, with its cast of just five (plus the chorus, of course), even with stage-filling, spritely, well-sung performances by tenor Theo Lebow, baritone Tobias Greenhalgh and bass-baritone Daniel Brevik, playing a host of characters ranging from Matisse and Picasso to Man Ray and Ernest Hemingway (as well as various wives, mistresses and doughboys).

Robinson kept things moving along briskly for the most part, using his design team from St. Louis, including the particularly clever scenic design by Allen Moyer, lighting by James F. Ingalls and amusing costumes by James Schuette, to fill out the production. There were also strong performances by MasterVoices and the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Artistic Director Ted Sperling, which did well by Gordon's distinctive, melodic score.

Those of us who live in New York, tend to think of it as the center of the world, but when it comes to contemporary opera, that's far from the norm (though that's been changing through the efforts of the Prototype Festival and, now, with some input from the new City Opera). Quibbles aside, we owe MasterVoices a debt of gratitude for bring us the inestimable Stephanie Blythe and the striking Heidi Stober in this entertaining score from Ricky Ian Gordon.

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