Ressenyes de producció anteriors
5This weekend I saw the ENO’s production of Nico Muhly’s Marnie. Based on a novel by Winston Graham which later became a Hitchcock film, the story is full of suspense and drama. Visually beautiful and very cleverly staged, using moving set pieces and projections to provide film-like transitions between scenes, the production was rich to look at, full of eye-catching tableaus and scenes. The costuming was very effective as well, particularly on Marnie herself and her quartet of Shadow Marnies who followed her throughout the show.
La version lyrique de Nico Muhly, coproduction entre l’English National Opera et le Metropolitan Opera de New York, est plus compatissante envers Marnie que le film, et se rapproche davantage du livre original. La voleuse est ici victime, et affirme que nous, êtres humains, incarnons constamment des personnages distincts selon notre environnement. La mise en scène entoure donc la protagoniste de quatre « ombres » (Charlotte Beament, Katie Coventry, Emma Kerr and Katie Stevenson), qui révèlent plusieurs facettes de sa personnalité. Quatre danseurs en costumes de bureau apparaissent à intervalles réguliers dans des chorégraphies très saccadées, pour représenter l’emprise masculine et les forces qui se jouent contre elle. Au cours d’une croisière, ils se placent autour de son lit et rappellent les « hommes aux costumes gris » dont la Princesse Diana parlait régulièrement.
Benjamin Britten’s 1958 account of the flood described in Genesis draws on the mediaeval mystery plays, in which obedience is a key theme. While other human beings are busy being wicked, Noah is obedient to God’s command and starts building the ship without troubling the Lord with those ‘what’s an ark, what’s a cubit’ questions. Lindsay Turner’s production for this collaboration between the English National Opera and the Theatre Royal Stratford East casts Suzanne Bertish as God, a speaking role in which she is excellent. The comic turn comes from the disobedience of Mrs Noah, who’s having none of it and refuses to embark even when the rain starts.
Noah had all kinds of trouble with the ark. What about the beavers, who wanted to gnaw at the wood? The cats, who wanted to gnaw at the mice? Then there was the nervous moose requesting a swimming aid, the hyperventilating zebra, the tortoise who nearly missed the boat ... OK, so none of this is specified in the libretto of Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, but they are all nice touches in Lyndsey Turner’s production, which marks English National Opera’s first collaboration with the Theatre Royal Stratford East.
