Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, 2012 festival review It is not flawless, though, and part of the problem is David Henry Hwang's verbally intricate libretto. Any Lewis Carroll adaptation needs to be clever in its wordiness, but Hwang adds a layer of his own that gets in the way. Chin's score is already as anarchic and surreal as the book itself, and under Michael Christie's mercurial baton the St Louis Symphony Orchestra beguiled. Few composers today could conjure up an effect to match that of the opening, where the entire orchestra seems to disappear down the rabbit hole with Alice. But the equally original stroke of having the Caterpillar "sung" by a solo bass clarinet and counterpointed by a dancer (the inventive choreographer Sean Curran) shows that Chin is not all about musical complexity. This production used a new, slightly reduced orchestral version, which may encourage further performances, but the edition missed the opportunity to trim a little too. Playing for two hours without an interval, Alice could do with some discreet snipping, beginning with an overlong part for the Queen of Hearts. And one excursion into rap would be fresher than two. In designs by Allen Moyer and James Schuette, the production by OTSL's artistic director James Robinson was fittingly magical. Huge pieces of people-dwarfing furniture turned miniature - and vice versa - in this energetic exploration of Wonderland, and Robinson kept the busy show moving with the tight directorial hand. The demanding title role found an ideal exponent in the soprano Ashley Emerson, who cut a diminutive figure in her storybook dress and sang the coloratura roulades with wonderful ease. But strong performances from a large cast, mostly notably Tracy Dahl (Cheshire Cat), Jenni Bank (Duchess), Julie Makerov (Queen of Hearts), Bradley Smoak (King of Hearts) and Aubrey Allicock (Mad Hatter), showed that this is a true ensemble piece. OTSL was on much more conventional ground in Così fan tutte, but it was an enjoyable Mozartian experience. Michael Shell's production was suffused with Mediterranean light, and Jean-Marie Zeitouni's conducting supported the singers sympathetically. Outstanding among them were Rachel Willis-Sorensen's glowing Fiordiligi and Liam Bonner's suave, dark-toned Guglielmo. Seemingly starry casting as Don Alfonso, James Maddalena was a charismatic presence but his baritone is a shadow of its former self; perhaps all those amplified roles in John Adams's operas had obscured his vocal decline. Carmen was more problematic, beginning with Stephen Barlow's production. It looked handsome in Paul Edwards's design (only Act III seemed to cut corners, putting the smugglers not on a mountain pass but back at Lillas Pastia's tavern after closing time), and the basic black-and-white movie concept, beginning with grainy credits during the overture, could have worked convincingly. But Barlow filled the stage with fussy detail while leaving the principals under-directed. In the title role, Kendall Gladen also seemed to promise more than she delivered. Despite the physique du rôle, she was a placid stage animal and her mezzo was weak in the middle of her range. The tenor Adam Diegel had the right tone for Don José but used it unvaryingly, so Aleksey Bogdanov's Escamillo and, especially, Corinne Winters's shining Micaela were the singers to note. Carlos Izcaray's conducting was well-judged and always lively. Sweeney Todd was a complete success, beginning with a cast stocked full of fine artists: Rod Gilfry as a dangerous Demon Barber, Karen Ziemba as a wickedly lively Mrs Lovett, no less a singer than Susanne Mentzer as the Beggar Woman, Timothy Nolen as Judge Turpin and Deanna Breiwick as Johanna. In designs by Riccardo Hernandez, Ron Daniels's staging moved swiftly and with all the grimness required. And it was a treat to hear Stephen Lord, OTSL's music director, and the St Louis Symphony in Sondheim's most operatic score. This review also appeared in SEVEN magazine, free with the Sunday Telegraph.