Those familiar with the musical version of Mel Brooks' The Producers may remember that that show opens with the giant, thudding sound of Max Bialystock's latest musical "Funny Boy!" going down in flames. "Funny Boy!" was a musicalization of that most excellent source material for a musical comedy, Shakespeare's Hamlet (and never mind that Hamlet actually was musicalized in 1976 in a legendary flop called "Rockabye Hamlet," and, no, I'm not kidding). The Love for Three Oranges precursors those two efforts by a half century or so, but contains one salient thing in common with them--we have a morose, despondent heir to the throne who manages to find the way to "closure" through theater. Luckily, Oranges opts for a happy ending, but not before a series of strange and quirky adventures besets The Prince, culminating in him releasing three princesses from three giant oranges (hence the title).

In a way, though, I'm getting ahead of myself, because Prokofiev starts Oranges with a very funny Prologue in which various "members of the audience" rise and demand different kinds of entertainment for the evening's festivities. One group wants comedy, another lyric drama. That sets up a group that appears throughout Oranges, a kind of Greek Chorus in reverse called The Ridiculous People. Several of the main characters in Oranges are culled from the ranks of Commedia dell'Arte, with, for example, court jester Truffaldino a version of Pulcinella. All of this plays out as a literal game of cards: the Prince's father is The King of Clubs, and, in one of the most provocatively staged scenes in this particular production, court magician Tchelio and evil witch Fata Morgana decide the fate of the Prince in a game of high stakes poker. With the Ridiculous People, the hommages to Commedia dell'Arte, and, most of all, with Prokofiev's trenchant musical language commenting from within and without the story itself, The Love for Three Oranges may be the first meta-opera, a piece that manages to comment about itself and its art form as it prances merrily along its mad way.

Amsterdam's Netherlands Opera capitalizes on all of this patent insanity in one of the most imaginatively staged productions of this piece I've witnessed. The card motif is woven beautifully into the set design, with huge playing cards forming the backdrops and even some costume designs based on the backs of the cards. As inventive and imaginative as this is, it occasionally produces unfortunate shadows on the stage which can mask singers' faces for a moment or two.

Oranges' at times strident musical language can be challenging for even the most accomplished singers, but the principals in this cast all do fine work. Bass Alain Vernhes has a suitably doleful tone as the worried King of Clubs, and tenor Martial Defontaine is fleet and expressive as The Prince. Natascha Petrinsky as the Machiavellian Princess Clarice is a delight, matched evil plot for evil plot by her accomplice Francois Le Roux as the Prime Minister. But it's Sir Willard White as Tchelio and especially Anna Shafajinskaja as Fata Morgana that command the stage effortlessly in this production, aided by their very theatricality and the amazing mise en scenes that director Laurent Pelly (who also did the fabulous costumes) creates for them.

The Love for Three Oranges manages to be madcap and heartfelt at the same time. Completely presentational and self-aware, it nonetheless has an almost ironic simplicity at times that keeps it from being over arch or too bitingly sarcastic. Like the best of Prokofiev's music, it's pungent without being too caustic for its own good.

The Blu-ray

Video:
This AVC 1.78:1 transfer is startlingly sharp at times, starting with the title menu, a literal house of cards. Colors are bright and amazingly vivid, and fine detail on the faces is amazing (in fact, a bit too amazing at times--when a troupe of doctors appears early in Act I decrying The Prince's depression, their baldcaps are appallingly evident). As mentioned above, the staging occasionally leaves some singers in the dark for a moment or two.

Sound:
Both the PCM 2.0 and 5.1 mixes are similarly excellent. At times, voices can be slightly better heard in the 2.0 mix since the orchestra is reduced to the background. Surround channels are not explosive here, but brass does fill them nicely from time to time, and directionality of singers is above average, giving a more immersive experience than a lot of recorded concerts. Subtitles are available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Dutch.

Extras:
This BD features a 30 minute or so "Introduction," which combines a making-of feel (they show the oranges being constructed, for example) with interviews with various cast members speaking about the opera itself and the traditions of Commedia dell'Arte. There's also a cast gallery and illustrated synopsis. The insert booklet contains excerpts from Prokofiev's diary from the period when he was writing Oranges.

Final Thoughts:
The Love for Three Oranges is opera for people who normally don't like operas. Funny, crazy, hyperbolically melodic as only Prokofiev can be, and just plain old fun to watch, this is a production that even kids will probably enjoy due to its sense of wonder and the fantastic. Highly recommended.

____________________________________________
"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet