Exhuming 'L'Épreuve Villageoise' for a fun evening, with a tried and true story

You have to hand it to Opera Lafayette. At a time when opera companies across the country are seeking innovations and little-known works, they've continued to mine a vein that has given a tremendous payoff. Having started as specialists in opera of the French baroque period, they've expanded their mandate to encompass works of the 18th and even 19th centuries that were once popular, have since been forgotten, but have a natural appeal to most curious opera-goers -- and are also fun.