'EURIDICE' A MODERN LOOK AT ANCIENT MYTH.

Byline: David Mermelstein Correspondent

Under Michael Milenski's iconoclastic direction, Long Beach Opera has a tradition of viewing obscure corners of the repertory with a fresh eye. That estimable habit continued this past weekend when the company took up temporary residence at the Getty Center's Harold Williams Auditorium to stage Jacopo Peri's ``Euridice,'' considered the first extant opera.

Premiering exactly 400 years ago (on Oct. 6, 1600) at the Pitti Palace in Florence, Peri's opera tells the tragic story of Orpheus and Eurydice (`'Euridice'' in the Italian version) - only in this staging of the myth, Orpheus gets his wife back for keeps. The opera comprises five scenes, here broken by an intermission, which are short on action and long on lyric exposition.

The Long Beach staging, directed by Milenski's daughter, Isabel, made the most of the drama, adding, as is the company's fashion, a decidedly new-wave design scheme. As for the musical values, they were pure 17th- century. Thirteen vocalists sang, in Italian with English supertitles hovering above, in the airy style one associates with the period. They were backed by 10 superb period-instrument players, including Musica Angelica founder Michael Eagen on archlute and acclaimed Baroque harp player Andrew Lawrence-King, who served as music director.

It was, however, this production's ``look'' (Darcy Scanlin's scenery, Audrey Fisher's costumes and Geoff Korf's lighting) that first captured one's attention. The set was plain but evocative. On a mirrored floor, whitewashed branches and grasses represented the countryside. A stylized fowl roasting on a spit served to remind us this was a wedding day. And save for the happy couple, who were clad in black (foreshadowing the troubles to come?), the cast was swathed in festive red and white. That the costumes were loud 1960s outfits may have put off purists, but they were witty, stylish and smart.

Indeed, humor and intelligence were at the core of this staging; Pluto in Hades, for instance, was represented as a cook slaving over a hot stove. Only Euridice's death pushed the limits of good sense. Legend and Peri's opera have it that she is felled by a snakebite. Here, director Milenski has her raped and murdered by the wedding photographer (baritone Curtis Streetman, who later sings Pluto).

The singers, largely early-music specialists, acquitted themselves well. Tenor William Hite, as Orfeo, has some grit to his voice, but he could also float a lovely line when required. Euridice, who also doubled as Venus, soprano Christine Abraham, claimed a sharp attack and a plaintive tone. But though individual singers sounded generally good, especially tenor Dan Plaster, they were even better as an ensemble. Here was a production in which the choruses were to be savored. Better still was the small on-stage orchestra. King and his musicians played with purest tone and abundant security. Several, King included, switched instruments at various points. This production marks the first time Long Beach Opera and the Getty have collaborated. Let's hope it's not the last.