FROM AROUND THE WORLD: VICTORIA, BC.(Brief Article)

The small stage of the McPherson Playhouse was bursting with energy and color in Pacific Opera Victoria's production of Vittorio Giannini's The Taming of the Shrew. The work, by the Italian--American composer (also known as the brother of the formidable dramatic soprano Dusolina Giannini), is adapted from Shakespeare's play, with additions from the sonnets and Romeo and Juliet. Shrew attracted sporadic attention after its premiere in Cincinnati on January 31, 1953, but has subsequently slipped from view.

However, as this strong production demonstrated, the libretto (by Giannini with Dorothy Fee) manages to communicate the play in the broadest sense, while the score remains constantly entertaining on its own conservative terms. A large cast of secondary characters is given time to develop their buffoderived musical personalities. One of the work's virtues is the clarity of the orchestration, though it depends somewhat too much on the winds for gurgling humor to facilitate the intricacies of the text.

Balancing the comedy were two lushly orchestrated love duets of Pucciniesque flavor, if lacking in memorable ...