With a wide-ranging stylistic reach that manages to incorporate allusions to ancient chant, Bach chorales, jazz and cabaret, "Jeanne d'Arc" is on the unruly side.

But that eclecticism helps keep the roughly 80-minute piece continually absorbing (if not always persuasive). There's a fresh aural experience around every corner.

The text by Paul Claudel gets heavy-handed in places, especially with satire. But where the personal tragedy of Jeanne is kept tightly in focus, Claudel's poetry hits the spot.

The oratorio requires a performer in the title role -- a speaking part -- who can create a kind of music of her own. That Caroline Dhavernas did superbly.

Though confined to a small plot of space onstage, the actress inhabited the character so incisively -- she even looked the part -- that you could conjure up cinematic imagery to go with it.

Dhavernas proved wonderfully touching in the close of Scene IX, when Jeanne says with quiet faith, "There is God who is the strongest." The actress was likewise affecting in the next scene, when Jeanne sings a few lines from a folk song (the only singing called for in the role).

The solo singers were uniformly effective, offering lots of dynamic phrasing.

Tamara Wilson's gleaming soprano registered fully. Soprano Hae Ji Chang and mezzo Kelley O'Connor blended exquisitely. Timothy Fallon coped well with the high-lying tenor part, and bass Morris Robinson made his presence felt strongly. There were vibrant contributions as well from Vijay Ghosh and Nathan Wyatt (I loved the Monty Python voice he tossed in at one point), along with the young, sweet voice of Caitlin DeLatte.

The choral forces summoned a mighty sound at the score's climatic points and got fully into the spirit of the wild trial scene, where Jeanne is tried by assorted (or sordid) animals.

I would not have minded a little more volume from the ondes martenot, but it was played expertly by Cynthia Millar. The orchestra rose to the occasion impressively. The brass, especially the pinpoint trumpets, contributed greatly.

Alsop ultimately made a strong case for "Jeanne d'Arc au bucher." Her sensitivity to the most personal moments in the work paid off, and she built some of the most atmospheric moments, such as the opening of Scene VII with its tolling bells, with great care. She also tapped into the mix of drama and strange rapture of the finale to telling effect.

Given the spatial limitations, stage director James Robinson could not generate much inn the way of action, but he clearly helped the performers animate the text, and lighting effects worked well to set mood and maintain focus.

One thing that could have used fine-tuning was the surtitles used to project translations of the French text. Too often, so many lines were crammed onto a single frame that I imagine a lot of folks in the hall would have welcomed binoculars.

This is not a piece likely to be done again any time soon, let alone done much better. Catch it tonight at the Meyerhoff, or head to Carnegie Hall tomorrow.

PHOTOS BY PATRICK SMITH