The beautiful 'Ballad of Baby Doe'

So fleet the works of men, Back to the earth again. Ancient and holy things, Fade like a dream."\nThese lines of poetry written by Charles Kingsley, a 19th century poet, grace the front of the scrim shade that opens "The Ballad of Baby Doe." \nThe scrim, painted with a scene of a mountain vista, is a replica of the one that hung in the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, Colo. These few lines encapsulate the life of Horace Tabor, who had everything but in the end lost it all except the love of his Baby Doe.\nThe production was impressive, led in great measure by the beautiful sets, designed by C. David Higgins. The front scrim was only the beginning, as it gave way to a revolving turntable, so the audience could watch as the sets moved seamlessly from one locale to the next. Credit must also be given to the crew, who managed a huge amount of furniture and props with ease.\nThe outer proscenium was designed to emulate a hall like the Tabor Grand Opera House, and had the added touch of combining 19th century class with modern technology, as the frame reached up to include the super title screen. On either side were large columns, decorated with photographs of the original Horace, Augusta and Baby Doe. The real images served as a reminder to the audience that the story unfolding had actually happened, albeit with a lot less dancing in the streets.\nHorace Tabor, the wealthy silver miner, played by Scott Skiba, was convincingly pompous. Baby Doe, the beautiful miner's (ex)wife, played by Erin Kelly, had a incredibly sweet and tremulous voice well-suited to the golden curls and vaguely insipid nature of her character. Despite a few difficulties in the upper vocal range, most of her arias were appropriately plaintive, and it was easy to see why Tabor would be drawn to her from the far harsher character of his wife, Augusta.\nAugusta, played by Margaret Nilsson, captured the brusk and stern nature of her character in every moment on stage. In all, she was most adept at displaying the many dimensions of Augusta, from the harsh taskmistress at the opening, to the wounded wife when she discovers her husband's affair, to resigned and proud woman at the end. \nA constant problem with the IU Opera is teaching 25-year-old women to create a convincing aura of age. Nilsson was very successful at not only adopting mannerisms of an older woman, but of projecting an air of authority for all of her stage time. \nEven with the strong main characters, it was really the supporting actors who made the show. The quartet of Augusta's friends, played by Brigid Berger, Carrie Reading, Anna Noggle, and Sarah McCormack were beautifully spiteful throughout. Also, Jessica Vanderhoof was incredibly engaging in her portrayal of Mama McCourt.\nThe final scene, where Horace reflects on his life as the most important figures from it appear behind the scrim brings the true passion and devotion of the story to the fore. While there are plenty of moments where drama takes over from a sense of realism and can often be a little much to handle, the reality of the love of Horace Tabor and Baby Doe does come through in the end. \nTickets are still available for shows running at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14.