'Ariadne auf Naxos' combines Curtis, Kimmel, Opera Philadelphia, slapstick, and seriousness

Is there a more gorgeously depicted transformation in all of Western music than the last seven or eight minutes of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos? With the emotional intelligence of Mozart, the score moves from mystery and tension, through elation and serenity, into the bright radiance of human love. Strauss traverses a great distance so magically that Ariadne herself wonders out loud: Are we on the other side already?

The beauty of that stretch stopped the opera's characters in their tracks Wednesday night in the Curtis Institute of Music's production, a welcome moment of introspection after all the silliness. This is a co-production with Opera Philadelphia and the Kimmel Center. But the orchestra and cast are drawn from Curtis, and the Strauss/Hofmannsthal work is tough stuff for students. The weak links, however, were few, and could be traced to the grown-ups - director Chas Rader-Shieber, who overplayed the slapstick, and recent Curtis graduate tenor Kevin Ray, who was still reaching for the vocal power of a Bacchus.

If there's an opera built for slapstick, it's this one. This production's conceit is that a serious opera company and a comedy troupe must conflate their shows to get done before the fireworks show starts. Art high and low must make the best of it.

It's understandable that a director would want to make the comic troupe more vulgar to sharpen the tension and humor. But turning Naxos, the deserted isle, into Gilligan's Island was jarring. It's too powerful and specific a pop culture reference, and it drained away all sense of fantasy. It was also a serious distraction.

Putting Zerbinetta in tight cut-off shorts and fishnet stockings gave her a nice modern edge. Having her do her big aria dressed as Ginger from the 1960s sitcom was pandering. Placing the second act in a gallery of sea-themed Damien Hirst and Gerhard Richter knock-offs deepened mood and characters. A Gilligan's Island car made of leaves and brush was just cheap.

One sensed the creative directors' lack of confidence in the work itself. Conductor George Manahan did not let tempos linger, passing over some moments that could have breathed. But the Curtis students played with skill unmatched by even some beloved recordings. Ashley Milanese as Zerbinetta was still grappling with the more gymnastic turns in the second-act aria - which runs a demanding 11 minutes, and then asks for a high D - and yet mostly conquered it with her lovely, lithe sound.

Lauren Eberwein (the composer) and Heather Stebbins (as Ariadne) acted as well as they sang. Stebbins used vulnerability to great effect, and you could not help falling in love with Eberwein's longing gazes as he fell in love (it's a trouser role) with his creation playing out on stage. Trust the art, the look implored. It won't let you down.