Opera: The Devils and Reardon

"I hope nobody hates music critics," muttered one nervous music critic last week in Santa Fe, N. Mex. "If they dropped a bomb on this place, they'd wipe out every last one of us."

The critics had grounds for apprehension — but on quite another score. They were gathered for the American premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki's The Devils of Loudun by the Santa Fe Opera, a troupe known for its firm (and rare) conviction that contemporary opera deserves a place right alongside the old favorites. The Devils is a highly unorthodox piece of music. At earlier performances this summer in Hamburg and Stuttgart, it had been greeted with as many pans as praises (TIME, July 4). Santa Fe once more was sho ing its devil-may-care spirit in risking, along with the tried-and-true, the tried-and-booed.

As it turned out, no one need have worried. The Devils was cheered at Santa Fe. There was even help from an unexpected source: precisely at the moment when one of Penderecki's characters shouted "God is dead!" there came a clap of thunder and a storm enveloped the theater. The audience was as impressed by the opera as by the incident. But despite its effectiveness, The Devils seemed episodic, eclectic, and the complex Penderecki (pronounced Pen-der-ete-key) score sometimes trod meekly behind the drama instead of forcefully alongside it. What gave absolutely no grounds for complaint were the performances of Baritone John Rear don and Mezzo-Soprano Joy Davidson. As a sensual priest who is burned at the stake, Reardon in particular gave the production just the sort of personal force it needs.

Once again, the Santa Fe troupe had justified its experimental philosophy. Like many a small opera company, it has neither the money to engage stars nor the patience to put up with their antics. Instead, it has nourished a number of talented beginners who have grown up to be stars in their own highly specialized orbits. John Reardon is one of them. In many ways, moreover, he typifies the new qualities necessary to survive in opera today. He is good-looking. He acts superbly. He will sing nearly anything that lies within his vocal range. He is also willing to learn the most complicated role in — by old-fashioned standards — nothing flat. This summer at Santa Fe, he is doing two American premieres (The Devils and Gian Carlo Menotti's Help! Help! The Globolinks) as well as Mozart's Cosí Fan Tutte and Puccini's Tosca.