July 12 (Bloomberg) -- There were tears of joy in Rufus Wainwright’s eyes when he took his bow after the world premiere of his opera “Prima Donna” in Manchester, England. There were some in mine too, though the joy sprang more from relief that it was over.

Wainwright is a talented pop star with a gift for penning hummable three-minute melodies. Perhaps, as he hinted in a recent television interview, a few composition lessons might not have been a bad idea when tackling something 147 minutes longer.

Set in 1970, “Prima Donna” (written in French with co- librettist Bernadette Colomine) tells the story of reclusive Regine Saint Laurent, the world’s most-acclaimed soprano. We learn that she suffered a trauma after the first night of the opera “Alienor d’Aquitaine” six years ago, and has not sung a note in public since. She is about to be interviewed by Paris’s top journalist Andre Le Tourner.

The breathless penny-novelette phrases “most-acclaimed soprano” and “Paris’s top journalist” are not mine, I hasten to add. They’re taken from the unintentionally amusing synopsis. The characters themselves do precious little during the piece to earn their superlatives.

In fact they don’t do very much, period. Regine remembers snatches of “Alienor” and sings them with the reporter who, luckily enough, also happened to train as a tenor. Her faithful retainer has a hissy fit and leaves. Her rather irritating maid does lots of affirmative female-bonding stuff.

Losing the Plot

Why she does this isn’t clear. Perhaps she’s just trying to get out of the dusting. Then again, the reasons why any of the characters do anything in this near-plotless piece are somewhat vague.

And the trauma? Regine’s terrible, voice-destroying secret? It turns out that she had fallen in love with the lead tenor in “Alienor,” and lost her voice when she found him canoodling with a chorus girl.

As traumas go, it hardly ranks with “found my dying daughter in a sack” or “stabbed my blackmailer to death,” which are crises that some other opera composers have found useful. It makes Regine seem as spineless as a blancmange. Six years of silence? Over a two-timing tenor? Get over it, girl!

Musically it sounds as if it were created by someone doodling at the piano: that is, the tonal melodies generally float over accompanying chord sequences which move in blocks, as in a pop song. Large musico-dramatic structures? Complexity of texture? Contrasting emotions simultaneously held in counterpoint? Well, no.

Not so Wild

The faux-medieval-folk idiom for the excerpts from “Alienor” is laughable. This was meant to be the opera which made all Paris go wild in 1964. Something tells me that Paris would likely have had quite a different reaction.

The orchestration is cluttered with unnecessarily thick woodwind chords doubling the strings, and overheavy unison bass lines. Pierre-Andre Valade’s loud conducting doesn’t help matters.

For all that, there are plus points. Daniel Kramer’s production glides between the worlds of Regine’s nightmares, her daily life, and her operatic memories with fluid ease. Antony McDonald’s expensive-looking sets successfully conjure up a high-ceilinged Parisian apartment complete with balcony.

Janis Kelly, a dramatically focused performer with a clear flexible voice, is very good as Regine, and high soprano Rebecca Bottone sounds great in the thankless role of the maid. Both Jonathan Summers (the retainer) and William Joyner (the journalist) sound hoarse and uncomfortable.

I can’t say I blame them.

Rating: * 1/2.

“Prima Donna” plays through July 19 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, England, as part of the Manchester International Festival. Information: http://www.mif.co.uk or +44-844-815-4961.

(Warwick Thompson is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

What the Stars Mean:
****      Excellent
 ***       Good
 **        Average
 *         Poor
 (No stars)Worthless

To contact the writer on the story: Warwick Thompson, in London, at warwicktho@aol.com.

Last Updated: July 11, 2009 20:24 EDT