Profiilin arvostelut
3Sky Ingram was magnificent in such a fiendishly difficult role, both in the power of her high register as in her piano and mezza-voce singing.
Ingram shows yet again why her star is rising fast.
Aikaisemmat tuotantoarvostelut
6Two decades since its first outing, this is one of those productions so successful it will not go away. It was conceived and first directed for Opera North by Phyllida Lloyd, better known to the world at large as director of two of Britain’s highest ever grossing films, Mama Mia and The Iron Lady. Meryl Streep, who acted in both, has described her director as, “divine, sure and calm”.
Phyllida Lloyd is the innovative director who was responsible for this radical production in 1993, which still has plenty of sparkle in 2014, this time with Michael Barker-Caven as revival director. The timeless story of young love and tragedy works brilliantly in a 1950s Paris setting, and the references to the period are all witty and telling. Marcello begins as an action painter, pouring blood-red paint on to paper in Act I and producing Warhol-style multiple images of Mimì in Act IV, a motorcycle brings a leather-jacketed Marlon Brando to mind, and the set for the strikingly grimy, freezing flat where the bohemians live (designed by Anthony Ward) could have been built for a kitchen sink drama. There is a certain hint of Juliette Gréco in Mimì but her simple costumes are not confined to existentialist black: they reflect a scene's mood, with red for passionate love, of course. There are two casts for this production. I watched the first one in action.
Graeme Broadbent steals the show as the cynical Satyr who advises the men that marriage will be merely trouble and strife, he projects robust good humour while thrilling us with a gravelly basso profondo. Sky Ingram is a splendid Venus, a magnet for the audience’s attention. Louise Alder’s Eurydice is the pick of the singers for the sublime parts. The set of emotions she has to project isn’t exactly complex, but she puts across Eurydice’s fidelity and despair in an engaging manner, helped by a sweet voice, spot-on intonation and well-turned phrasing.In view of Mary Bevan having a throat infection, the title role was sung by Siobhan Stagg with Bevan acting – the plan is that Stagg will act the role also from the third performance until Bevan’s return. Obviously, having to split the role isn’t ideal, but Bevan put in a sterling effort at mime and Stagg showed that she certainly has the voice for the role. Some of the theatrical tricks worked well. Venus’s transformation into the old crone Alkippe is masterly, and the appearance of the Three Graces in Act II (I won’t give the game away) comes as a real shock. I enjoyed Act III a lot more, when the frantic pace slackened off and we were treated to some truly lovely arias from Stagg’s Orpheus, Alder’s Eurydice and Caitlin Hulcup as Aristaeus - having spent most of the previous two Acts being downtrodden and risible, Hulcup seized her chance to project some real pathos. L’Ormindo, from the same period, by the same company at the same venue, was the best thing I saw last season. Orpheus doesn’t come close to that completeness, but any performance at the Sam Wanamaker is a delight and there’s plenty to enjoy in this production. And it’s worth going out of historical interest alone.
