According to all reports, in the summer of 1816 the Swiss lakeside Villa Diodati was awash with turbulent romance and creativity. That heady atmosphere is intermittently captured in the New York Musical Theatre Festival entry Villa Diodati: A Mary Shelley Phantasia.
The villa's inhabitants that summer were celebrity poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley and their respective loves, Claire Clairmont and her half-sister Mary Shelley. Mary was particularly busy, tending to her baby while also beginning work on her novel Frankenstein.
Composer Mira J. Spektor has written a score in classic chamber-opera mode, arranged for piano, cello, and violin. While it doesn't quite soar, it blossoms on occasion into fetching melody and provides lots of impressive high notes for the three female singers — Elizabeth Cherry as Mary, Lauren Hauser as Claire, and Sarah Arikian as the ghost of Mary's mother. Ably handling the baritone notes are Sal Sabella as a rebellious but loving Shelley and Mark Campbell as a dashingly bipolar Byron.
The libretto is by Spektor and Colette Inez. The lyrics are mostly by Inez, although Spektor wrote some and there are contributions from other wordsmiths — namely Byron, Percy Shelley, and William Wordsworth. Directed by Rob Urbinati, the show focuses on the quartet's first night at the villa, including partying, romantic tensions, lovemaking, and uneasy dreams for Mary. These proceedings are framed by a visit to the villa by a contemporary couple (played by Arikian and Campbell) with concerns of their own. But at the close, the creative spirits of the four provide inspirational uplift for the visiting couple.
Both libretto and lyrics are packed with information about the character's lives, but details get blurred in the singing and uncertain storytelling, never jelling into a compelling tale. The framing device also seems perfunctory. Still, Villa Diodati offers a taste of four complex personalities, informed by passion for art and told in an artful if not totally satisfying blend of music and drama.
Presented by Diodati Productions as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival
at the 45th Street Theatre, 354 W. 54 St., NYC.
Sept. 23-Oct. 4. Remaining performances: Sat., Sept. 27, 4:30 p.m.; Wed., Oct. 1, 8 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 3, 4:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 4, 8 p.m.
(212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111 or www.theatermania.com or www.nymf.org.
Casting by Tom Rowan, Michael Rabinowitz.