Cooperstown.

Glimmerglass Opera's production of Puccini's La fanciulla del West was a dramatic triumph, but a musical irritation and a visual disaster. Director Lillian Groag deserves praise for the passionate reality of the character interpretations, the relentless stage tension and a heart-stopping, blood-pounding finale that was as good as it gets. John Conklin's set, however, was an unworkable nightmare, while conductor Stewart Robertson was so in love with Puccini's opulent score that he forgot about balance between singers and orchestra.

Canadian tenor Roger Honeywell was the hero bandit, Dick Johnson, while talented fellow Canadian, baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson, was Sonora, the leader of the miners. The future promise of both good-looking young men is a slam dunk, but neither is really a meat-and-potatoes Puccini singer. Honeywell's voice, with its subdued middle register, is happier sitting in a high tessitura, while Nicholson is too light for this repertoire. That said, Honeywell has charisma to burn, and the chemistry between him and his Minnie, Emily Pulley, positively sizzled. He brings complexities to roles that other singers only see in two dimensions. His voice is clear and true, with powerful, robust high notes, and he is blessed with beautiful phrasing and fiery delivery. Unfortunately, while he nailed the money notes throughout, particularly in Johnson's big Act III aria, his middle and lower registers were lost in the music.

Nicholson is also a charismatic presence on stage, and an excellent actor. When he joined Minnie in the finale, begging the rest of the miners to spare Johnson's life, it was a moving performance indeed. Sadly, he could scarcely be heard. What Nicholson does possess, however, is a lovely, light baritone that is sweet, melodious and warm, yet very manly in command.

Soprano Pulley had the best sing of the evening. She is a wonderful actress, with a thrilling vibrato at the top of her register, astonishingly stirring low notes and a gorgeous arc of sound throughout. Baritone Earle Patriarco's Jack Rance was another miscasting error. He has a distinctive, honey-coated, creamy tone--also a lovely voice--and while he is capable of sound and fury in his acting, his jealous, ruthless sheriff was a paper tiger.

While Constance Hoffman's costumes were bang-on, they were lost in Conklin's complicated, multi-platform set, littered with mining detritus that allowed barely any breathing room, and ultimately became a treacherous obstacle course for the singers.

Director Christopher Alden's trash-and-flash Glimmerglass production of Handel's penultimate opera, Imeneo, was a curious mix of genuine brilliance and infuriating artifice. First performed in London in 1740, the singing demands of Imeneo are tortuous. Happily, the excellent cast was up to the demands, while the superb British conductor William Lacey gave Handel's music an unusually rich cornucopia of nuance and mood.

The story deals with the age-old conflict between love and duty. Imeneo (Canadian tenor John Tessier) has rescued the sisters Rosmene and Clomiri (sopranos Amanda Pabyan and Megan Monoghan) from pirates. As his reward, Imeneo demands from the girls' father, Argenio (bass-baritone Craig Phillips), the hand of Rosmene. Unfortunately, Rosmene has a lover, Tirinto (male soprano Michael Maniaci), while Clomiri loves Imeneo.

The talented Tessier has always had the perfect light, bright, crystalline tenor for early music, and has built up a well-deserved career performing the mostly bland roles that are the curse of his vocal fach. In Imeneo, he was a singer transformed. Both Alden and Lacey clearly demanded full-throated passion from the cast, and Tessier was actually sexy as the swaggering, insensitive, super-confident hero. He displayed acting skills that have long remained hidden, while tossing off furiously paced arias with cascades of beautifully placed ornamentation. There was a new authority and command to his voice that added color and richness.

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Maniaci was magnificent as the despairing Tirinto, and his amazing voice seems to get higher with each new role, while retaining its sweetness and grace. Pabyan had interesting dramatic color in her voice, in contrast to Monaghan's attractive, feathery lightness. Phillips gave Argenio a sound that was crisp and bold.

Alden set the opera in, on and around a dilapidated 1830s New England home designed by Marsha Ginsberg, while Doey Luthi provided the drab costumes. Alden used magic realism to show both the real world and inner dialogue of the characters through stylized movements and posed positioning. His theme was repression, a homage to the generations of women who were never allowed to marry for love, and his metaphor was a bevy of eight young girls who made silent appearances at key moments. As always, Alden is prone to overkill, and his first act numbed with calculated pretension, but the production came alive during the second act's dysfunctional family dinner.