Great Scott

About

Jack O’Brien’s staging of Great Scott contrasts the hectic, realistic backstage world of a modern opera company with the stylized, 19th-century bel canto spectacle of the opera-within-the-opera, Rosa Dolorosa, Figlia di Pompei. Bob Crowley’s design sets contemporary scenes in vivid blues and turquoises, sharply offset by volcanic oranges and crimsons for the historical pastiche. Brian MacDevitt’s lighting and Elaine J. McCarthy’s projections reinforce the visual narrative with images such as a monumental Mount Vesuvius and an American flag backdrop for a Super Bowl sequence. The production employs motorized scenery, flying effects, and a fluid, kinetic stage language rare on traditional opera stages. John de los Santos’s choreography weaves football motifs into balletic movement, underscoring the tension between sports and high art. Throughout, the staging maintains a brisk comic tempo while navigating Heggie’s shifts between modern musical syntax and Rossini/Bellini-inspired pastiche.