Victoria Livengood, Max Hopp and Cast Photo by Philip Groshong

Using an immense cast (20 named roles, an adult chorus of roughly 30, plus nearly 20 children, as well as 11 dancers from Cincinnati Ballet's Second Company), director Crystal Manich has staged the beloved tale of the philosophical milkman Tevye, his fretful but devoted wife Golde, and their five daughters with attention to historic detail and the exploration of faith in an evolving modern world.

Drawn from stories by Sholem Aleichem about the joyous lives and imminent suffering of Jews in a small Russian town, the show is receiving a sold-out run at Cincinnati's historic 1878 Music Hall. From the stupendous mass choreography of the entire company for the opening number, "Tradition," to the heartbreaking finale, "Anatevka," as the town's residents solemnly leave their homes behind, the three-hour production lands solidly with powerful, evocative emotions.

Iconic actor Zero Mostel put his indelible imprint on the role of Tevye in its original production, and his raffish performance has been the model for numerous subsequent interpreters of the role. Cincinnati Opera has cast German actor Max Hopp: He has played Tevye often in Europe, but this is his first time to perform it in English. His approach to the character is more understated, not missing the humor written into Joseph Stein's script but handling it with wry, humane twists that add an immediacy to the story.

Tevye has numerous searching conversations with God, delivered straight out toward the audience. He yearns to do the right thing by his daughters, but it's 1905 and times and mores are changing, abandoning "traditions" that have been Tevye's lifelong touchstones. The arranged marriage of strong-willed Tzeitel (Rachel Kobernick) to the town's butcher, ebullient Lazar Wolf (Phil Fiorini), who's older than Tevye, is not to her liking. She and her childhood friend, modest Motel (Arnold Livingston Geis), an aspiring tailor, have pledged themselves to one another–without Tevye's permission. Their joyous reaction to Tevye's ultimate approval, "Wonder of Wonders," is sung with great energy.

Tevye arranges for Perchik (Simon Barrad), an outspoken young intellectual, to educate the girls; Tevye is dismayed when daughter Hodel (Rachel Blaustein) falls for the idealistic revolutionary and chooses to follow him as he seeks to fight against authoritarian rule. Next, perhaps the hardest turn of events, happens when daughter Chava (Jennifer Zetlan) falls in love with a non-Jew, Fyedka (Henry Benson). Hopp's Tevye is remarkable in his see-saw resistance and ultimate acceptance of these situations.

Golde (Victoria Livengood), often exasperated with her husband, also depends on him, even if she finds it hard to affirm in the affecting "Do You Love Me?" Fiddler's comic high point is the brilliantly staged "Tevye's Dream." In it, Hopp's manic Tevye amusingly convinces his wife that the ghost of Fruma-Sarah (Sarah Folsom), the butcher's late wife, will wreak havoc if the forced marriage goes forward. The number builds and builds, eventually with Fruma-Sarah with frightening ghostly wings swooping across the Music Hall stage on Tevye and Golde's rolling bed.

Since its earliest days, Cincinnati Opera has been accompanied by the renowned Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The complement of musicians, conducted here by Levi Hammer, is probably three times the size of orchestras that typically accompany Broadway musicals, and their support is glorious from start to finish. Of particular importance is CSO violinist Charles Morey, who is onstage as the "fiddler," the show's symbol for the crazy imbalance that Tevye portrays. Morey is sometimes highlighted and at other moments blended into the periphery of the action, but he is repeatedly a haunting distillation of the fragility of life in Anatevka.

Andrew Boyce's scenic design is minimal but effective. The action is framed with rough-hewn lumber, material that homes were likely built from. Behind the action are two-dimensional silhouettes of the town's humble dwellings and buildings. An array of tables move on and off the stage in various configurations. When the "Sabbath Prayer" is sung by Tevye's family, we see glimmers of other candle-lit Sabbath meals that open up to reveal the devotion of the entire community.

Thomas C. Hase's lighting design is essential to the storytelling. When Tevye steps into one of his conversations with God, the action around him freezes and dims, and he steps into a pool of light. At several moments of intense action–the joyous "To Life" and the sad departure of the townfolk as the show's conclusion–the lighting throws large shadows behind the action. It's subtly effective, as is the constantly changing colors projected behind the action.

Fiddler on the Roof is about the power of tradition and family, caught up in the gears of time and the need for adjustment and acceptance. It's also a warm-hearted celebration of community, sometimes combative, sometimes supportive. Cincinnati Opera's production is a gift to audiences, one that's likely to be remembered for years to come.

Cincinnati Opera's Fiddler on the Roof runs through July 27, 2025, at Cincinnati Music Hall, 1243 Elm Street, in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, Cincinnati OH. For tickets and information, please visit www.CincinnatiOpera.org or call 513-241-2742.