If there is such a thing as a Contemporary Opera Goodwill Ambassador, I’d like to nominate Kirke Mechem – as long as he staffs his diplomatic office with the likes of Lydia Larkspur, Mrs. Malaprop and Jack Absolute.

To judge by the Skylight’s world premiere production of Mechem’s The Rivals, he and his staff would excel at showing the often skeptical public that contemporary opera can be as buoyant and hilarious as a classic screwball comedy, while treating them to glorious music along the way.

Mechem brilliantly Americanizes Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s original play – a 1775 skewering of British conspicuous consumption – by bringing it to the Gilded Age playground of Newport, Rhode Island, where Sheridan’s original characters mix with familiar American names like Astor and Vanderbilt. As with the original, the “rivalry” is a charade. Tired of the shallow wealth that surrounds her, Lydia longs for a Bohemian life with a destitute opera composer (one of many of Mechem’s winking tweaks), while her guardian is more socially suitable. Both, of course, are the same person: Jack Absolute.

Even though everything does turn out well in the end, the new setting gives us a chance to chuckle (and guffaw) at the foolishness of the American well-heeled, particularly the pouty tantrums of Lydia (Alicia Berneche), and smirky eavesdropping of the hired help (often done, yes, from behind potted palm trees). There’s nothing old-fashioned about it – we're just a costume change away from something right out of Real Housewives of Newport.

Mechem crafts wonderful comic characters, both dramatically and musically. And director Dorothy Danner stages the goings on with just the right light touch. Mechem finds just the right melodies to highlight Mrs. Malaprop’s zingers (in response to a flirty compliment: “Flatulence will get you nowhere!”). And throws in a dose of ragtime to highlight the goofiness of the Kentucky born Vanderbilt (the brazenly hilarious Matthew DiBattista).

The orchestrations are lush and spirited, and beautifully played by a 20-piece orchestra with Richard Carsey at the helm. Mechem finds soaring lines for the romantically tortured Nicholas Astor (sung with real heft by Zach Borichevsky), and Sullivan-esque militarism for Anthony Absolute (Robert Orth). And Christopher Burchett and Diane Lane play Jack and Mrs. Malaprop with sure comic timing and musicianship.

A world premiere is a chance to rise to the occasion, and that’s certainly apparent in The Rivals. It’s one of the finest pieces of music theater I’ve seen in some time – on any stage.