The Seattle Opera Young Artists performance of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Ravel’s Enchanted Child left audiences satisfied last weekend, delivering two acts full of family humor and ironic tales of greed.

The evening began with the mildly curious opera Enchanted Child. The artists were full of energy, which is a necessity to re-enact the wacky adaptation of a child tormented by wrongful acts from the past—from torturing dragonflies and caging chipmunks to disrupting a fifth grade algebra class. Laughs and raised eyebrows were abundant when the schoolgirl dressed as a chipmunk sang her sad song about living life in a cage. Even through three inches of fur costume, she sang like a seasoned professional. The opera’s direction, music and design were proportioned to provide optimal spurts of edgy color and costuming. The story is odd, but the artists captured the mood and humor perfectly.

The second one-act opera detailed events when greed and death meet the sly Gianni Schicchi. The opera tells the tale of a family who will stop at nothing to win the inheritance of their dead relative. Forbidden love, treachery, and idolatry lead the way, and the Young Artists delivered a laugh-out-loud, brilliant performance.

If you are looking for an entertaining, low-stress activity this weekend, consider attending one of the three remaining performances of Gianni Schicchi and Enchanted Child at the Theatre at Meydenbauer in Bellevue.

Photo courtesy of Seattle Opera by © 2008 Rozarii Lynch Photos