Several messages run through Jonathan Dove's Tobias and the Angel, a shimmering work that received its North American premiere Thursday night by Opera Vivente: the need for social justice and responsibility, the value of parenting skills and filial duty, the incalculable rate of return on a good deed, the rewards of faith.
In the end, though, the moral of the opera boils down to: Stop and smell the roses. Or, in this case, take time to hear the songs of the trees and mountains, the secret sounds of a river. That might not be exactly what the author of the apocryphal Book of Tobit had in mind, but it's a nice thought, and it effectively animates this beguiling piece of music and theater.
If you go Tobias and the Angel will be performed at 8 tonight and 3 p.m. tomorrow at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 811 Cathedral St. Tickets: $30 to $50. Call 410-547-7997 or go to operavivente.org.
