By Sebastian Spreng, Visual Artist and Classical Music Writer

In Naples, on the other side of Everglades National Park, a company located in and named after the city on Florida’s west coast, has been staging operas for a decade. The enterprise is modest but ambitious. It doesn’t need or hope to compete with its older and reputed siblings – the Sarasota Opera, the Palm Beach Opera and Miami’s Florida Grand Opera – but to gain ground and win over audiences in a prosperous area where a regional company could well thrive. Adam Lau and Amy Owens – photo Ivan Seligman

Now in its tenth season, Opera Naples has just made the smart move of hiring Ramón Tebar as Artistic Director. The Spaniard keeps a busy schedule, juggling conducting and artistic management responsibilities at the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra, the Santo Domingo Festival, various international venues and the Florida Grand Opera, where he has transitioned from Music Director to Principal Conductor. Last Wednesday, at the Annual Gala that raised a record close to $400,000, he received the Cross of Officer of the Order of Civil Merit awarded to him by HM King Felipe VI of Spain. As a matter of fact, Tebar is not only attracting world-class artists to the Gulf Coast city but also crafting balanced programs that include the traditional (La Bohème, Così fan tutte) and the new (Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires, Tango and Peter Brook’s La tragédie de Carmen). Performances are held at Hayes Hall, in the multidisciplinary Artis-Naples complex, and the black box theater of the organization’s David and Cecile Wang Opera Center, where this Mozart jewel played to packed houses.

Picked for the lead by her countryman, internationally renowned soprano Isabel Rey played Fiordiligi, heading up a young cast that performed under Tebar’s attentive direction. The seasoned singer brought experience, poise and sparkle to the role and delivered a class in Mozart’s style. Rey also modeled vocal projection very different from what is usual in these shores appearing more comfortable in her arias than ensemble numbers. As Dorabella, Leah Summers performed at the same high level, displaying a rich and deep tone. Another pleasant surprise was the very young Amy Owens’ perky Despina. Within the male ranks, the Guglielmo sung by Joo Won Kang was impressive, Joshua Dennis’ Fernando, less so. But the best performance was delivered by Adam Lau, an outstanding Alfonso in every sense, vocal as well as theatrical, and stylistically even more accurate than his young colleagues.

The small stage made for great fun, self-assurance and style, elements that played key roles in an intimate evening in which musicality was foremost, as stage director Marc Verzatt successfully avoided the exaggerations and affectations that tend to mar a product as delicate as Così. The weakest aspects of the production were Thaloc López-Watterman’s excessive lighting and the use of slides that failed to create the right atmosphere.

In brief, Opera Naples’ offerings have become increasingly tempting for both local and out-of-town aficionados, who will not be disappointed if they venture beyond the Everglades. When in Florida, the more opera, the better for everyone.