Renee Fleming leads emotionally complex 'Light in the Piazza' at Lyric Opera of Chicago

“The Light in the Piazza” - ★ ★ ★ ½

It's no wonder that Grammy Award-winning American opera soprano Renée Fleming would champion “The Light in the Piazza.”

This six-time Tony Award-winning 2005 Broadway musical by composer Adam Guettel (“Floyd Collins”) and playwright Craig Lucas (“Prelude to a Kiss”) fully embraces operatic vocals and emotions. So “The Light in the Piazza” shouldn't be too much of a stretch for Fleming now that she has largely steered her career away from fully staged opera performances.

Fleming and British actor Alex Jennings (“The Crown,” “The Lady in the Van”) are the main stars for the Chicago leg of this revival's international tour, which was a part of the Los Angeles Opera season and heads next to Sydney. Though not officially a Lyric Opera of Chicago production, “The Light in the Piazza” does feature conductor Kimberly Grigsby leading members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra who bring out the score's lush beauty and romanticism.

“The Light in the Piazza” is inspired by Elizabeth Spencer's 1960s novella, which focuses on a wealthy mother-daughter pair of American tourists in 1950s Italy. Margaret Johnson (Fleming) is keen to show her grown daughter, Clara (Solea Pfeiffer), all the sights she saw on her honeymoon before World War II.

Instead, Clara becomes enthralled with the ardent Florentine youth Fabrizio Naccarelli (Rob Houchen), who is relentless in his romantic pursuit of her. Fabrizio's full family, led by Signor Naccarelli (Jennings), become involved, too.

Due to Clara's “special” condition, Margaret initially wants to put a stop to all this. But watching Margaret change her mind is at the heartbreaking center of this musical. Despite so much surrounding disillusionment (especially from an incisive Suzanne Kantorski as Fabrizio's sister-in-law, Franca), Margaret pins enormous amounts of hope on love so her daughter can have a happy ending.

Considering this tour originated in a concert venue (London's Royal Festival Hall), it's amazing that Olivier Award-winning director Daniel Evans was still able to deliver such an emotionally effective and elegantly simple production. Designers Robert Jones (sets), Brigitte Reiffenstuel (costumes) and Mark Henderson (lighting) work in concert to conjure up the beauty of Italy.

Perhaps the only drawback to “The Light in the Piazza” at the Lyric is Fleming can't compete with longtime theatergoers' memories of Victoria Clark, who originated the role of Margaret Johnson. Though exquisitely sung, Fleming misses many of the humorous asides and some of the dramatic depth that Clark brought to her Tony and Jeff Award-winning performances on Broadway and at Chicago's Goodman Theatre back in 2004.

But any chance to see “The Light in the Piazza” with a full orchestra and so many rich performances is a plus for any theater and music lover. “The Light in the Piazza” is a modern musical theater classic that fully embraces its moral complexities and so much hopeful romanticism.

Location: Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, lightinthepiazzathemusical.com or (312) 827-5600 or lyricopera.org

Showtimes: 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, Dec. 18-21, and Dec. 27-28; 1:30 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 29

Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with intermission

Tickets: $35-$219

Parking: Area pay garages and limited metered street parking

Rating: Strong inferences of infidelity; for preteens and older