GUBU Rigoletto

Leaving Munich Opera House on a trip recently, I noted a row of seats at the top of the house with no view of the stage but with dinky seat lamps to allow reading of the libretto while listening. to a performance.  Curious, I thought.

I ran into the cast of Opera Theatre Company's  at a service station on Monday as they journeyed from Dublin to Donegal to present their latest  production of Verdi's Rigoletto. There has been much hand wringing over the lack of a major house in the capital. As a provincial theatre goer, I am much more concerned that we continue to have good touring productions and OTC do a fantastic job of bringing top class singers and musicians  regularly to a theatre near you at reasonable ticket prices. Tonight they are in Kilkenny  at the Watergate Theatre and your last chance to catch them is at the Lime Tree  in Limerick. With at three locals in the cast, Kevin Neville, David Howes and Owen Gilhooly -there should be a rousing reception to close  proceedings at the  Shannonside, Duke's Court.

My review of the production appeared  in Saturday's Irish Examiner http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/opera-review-opera-rigoletto--oreilly-theatre-dublin-332384.html

With a tight word count, there wasn't room for everything and I want to note also the excellent performances of Kate Allen and John Molloy. Both are deliciously dark in character and timbre as the ‘hitman’ Sparafucile and ‘masseuse’, Maddalena. The male chorus of 'scumbags, scangers, spastics and of course eejits' , bearing all manner of gangland weapons are very impressive.

In musical terms this was a superb performance in so many respects. but the production appalled  me. Transformations of the aristocratic milieu of 16th century Mantua to visions of sleazy 20th century underworlds is mainstream stuff in major houses . Jonathan Miller’s enormously popular Mafioso staging for ENO is 30 years old.  Here is the quartet from that production. Sleazy but quite stylish and  retaining a degree of charm, I think.



Picking up the resonance of newspaper reports around an infamous double murder in the 1980's, The current OTC production  appeared to me to be a GUBU Rigoletto.  The plot also  features a double murder, Monterone and Gilda both are dispatched (spoiler alert) Set in a grotesque  'boxing club' set of with prominent portaloo, cage  and other club accoutrements . Singers are never allowed to simply stand still to deliver their arias but are kept busy with bizarre tasks such as rearranging oversized bunnies or simulating sexual activity. Gilda's Cara Nome is performed while zipping the Duke into a large bright yellow onesie.


All this  'provocative' theatrical busyness  does rather drain the energy from the piece. Is the general audience best served by a radical charmless production, I wonder? In her preview interview with me for the Irish  Examiner , Emma Nash spoke about being introduced to the genre by her father at a live performance at Cork Opera House. It seems a shame  that this was not a production you would want a young newbie to see or indeed that I myself would want to revisit. For many who don't travel to see opera , this might be the only production we may have a chance to see in years.  Do we really need a fresh innovative  approach.?

    Suddenly, an option on those 'libretto seats' seem like a rather  good idea.


Rigoletto Promo (Opera Theatre Company) from Opera Theatre Company on Vimeo.

Cathy's Reviews Gritty Urban Carmen http://cathydesmond.blogspot.ie/2013/05/gritty-urban-carmen-opera-theatre.html

Ancient and Modern Orfeo at Theatre Royal Waterford

Golden Couple 

Theatre Royal Waterford

 Opera Theatre Company's latest production offered us a  modern take on the  strange and beguiling world of early Baroque opera .  The Greek myth of musical Orpheus and his  journey to the underworld to retrieve his beloved nymph Eurydice has kept composers busy for centuries but it is thought that no composer harnessed music to chart the emotional turbulence of young blighted love  better than Monteverdi. His Orfeo  is regarded as the first important work in the opera canon born in the Renaissance mindhives of the 17th century Florentine camerati .  Sadly there are resonances in current news headlines with the theme of happiness of young newly weds tragically  cut short in idyllic surroundings.
The historic Theatre Royal, Waterford seemed just the right sort of venue to hear a rare, ancient opera and the foyer was buzzing with anticipation on Saturday night as local aficionados,  critics and figures from the national theatre scene gathered for the opening night of the nationwide tour. This was quite the best dressed audience I have seen at the theatre in a while.

Sung in an English translation to the original libretto, the singers were accompanied by a seven piece period ensemble led by Andrew Synott.  I was intrigued by the sound of the cornettos  and the note of menace  evoked by the hurdy gurdy like regal.  The gentle sounds of the harp and theorbo were heard clearly with the musicians comfortably ensconsed in one of the exposed wings rather than the sunken pit.
The staging under director Ben Barnes was very interesting.  This was a youthful cast The golden couple looked radiant in the cream wedding attire but I was a bit baffled by the 'smart casual'  first act costumes. It seems that into each show some rain must fall  and the evoking of tears with a profusion of umbrellas and the emptying of a watering can on the prostrate  messenger wrung  giggles rather than tears from the back row of the balcony . Hades was a WW2 concentration camp and the journey back from the underworld was via art deco hotel elevator presided over by  baritone Padraic Rowan in natty red bell boy costume . There was a run on programmes in the interval as patrons brushed up on the mythic plotline. The programme notes were excellent with substantial articles on the context of the work in addition to the usual items.

There were several remarkable performances that stood out. American tenor, Oliver Mercer  in the title role was everything you would want in an Orpheus, a beautiful voice in a style quite different from a bravura tenor of the Romantic tradition.  Swedish contralto  Karolina Blixt was enthralling . Her low contralto tones reminiscent of Kathleen Ferrier were chilling as the Messenger , bearing bad tidings.  It was good to see Clare tenor, Peter O  Donohue another singer from Archie Simpson's stable in the cast and Ferghal Curtis was impressive  in the role of Apollo in his professional debut. The foyer ladies choice for best man though was American bass Matthew Trevino for  a powerful voice, great stage presence and real air of malevolence  about him  in the role of Pluto.  Irish sopranos Sadhbh Dennehy  as Musica and Eurydice, Daire Halpin as  Proserpina  completed the impressive cast.

Among the attendees were Professor  Eric Sweeney who conducted the Dublin premiere of Orfeo in 1974 when it was presented as part of Dublin Theatre Festival at Christchurch Cathedral  to great critical acclaim.

We very much enjoyed this  production and at €30 a head it was terrific value for a top class production in a beautiful venue. There was great sense of occasion and the evening concluded with a convivial reception in the foyer with the artists present to meet and greet. While there is much angst about the lack of an opera house in the capital, I am much more concerned that we continue to enjoy excellent touring productions  in the provinces in the many underused  arts centres around the country. Even if Baroque Opera is not your cup of tea, this production is very well done, worth seeing and deserves to be supported . Tour dates here 

listen to ‘Padraic Rowan Baritone ’ on Audioboo

My favourite moment from the opera.

Monteverdi, "Tu Se Morta" from 'L'Orfeo' from Jon Meredith on Vimeo.


OTC's staging was more understated in contrast  than the very Gothic one here with a baritone in the role
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFe-xH7bblQ

My review of Lismore Music Festival Barber of Seville

Opera Britania Review Orfeo