CHEERS OF A CLOWN
Pagliacci (Scottish Opera) Verdict: Great idea but needs work
JUST like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my sadness hid… It might have been Smokey Robinson and the Miracles who embedded the tragic circus figure in the popular imagination with their 1970 smash hit Number One single, The Tears of a Clown.
But now Scottish Opera has taken the process a stage further in an audacious attempt to bring the short opera itself to a wider audience.
Thus it was I found myself in the confidently named Paisley Opera House in Seedhill Playing Fields – in reality, a series of rigid pods resembling a circus big top. What could be better for a new production of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci?
It is also perhaps the perfect opera with which to target new audiences. Though lasting barely an hour and a half, Pagliacci is one of the most popular works in the entire repertoire, regularly appearing in the Top 20 of the Operabase list of the most performed operas worldwide.
But how did it fare, having been ‘taken out of a traditional proscenium arch theatre,’ as Scottish Opera’s general director Alex Reedijk put it? Well, the idea of presenting a clown-inspired opera in a big top circus setting, with grass under your feet, is clearly a good one.
It should also be emphasised how different a production this was from the norm. An entire orchestra had been installed, though it was at least, as in a theatre, static.
Not so the singers. They moved around the various areas of the big top, literally mingling with the audience, who were making the most of the burger bars – and real bars – available.
At one point, Trinidadian tenor Ronald Samm (playing the title role of Canio/Pagliaccio in this tragic ‘play within a play’ opera) sat down at a trestle table next to my wife, had a drink and burst into song before continuing on his way. Not what you get at the Theatre Royal, for sure. There were also an unquantifiable number of amateur singers and performers from the local community among the audience. It was actually quite difficult at times to know who was performing and who was spectating. To add to the general gaiety, carnival sideshows plied their trade around the periphery of the action.
It was certainly different – but did it work? First, the professional performances. The sound quality was better than I had feared it might be in such a setting.
Both the orchestra, under Stuart Stratford, and the principal singers produced uniformly fine performances in what must have been a totally alien setting. The aforementioned Samm was heartrending. His blustering Canio plumbed the depths of darkness as Pagliaccio as real life and art became inextricably intertwined, leading to tragedy. He was particularly affecting during Vesti la giubba, as he donned his clown’s costume at the end of Act One.
Anna Patalong as Nedda (Canio’s wife)/Columbina and Samuel Dale Johnson as her lover Silvio almost stole the show with their Act One duet. The tension between them was electric throughout.
I’m not certain the amateur performers mingling with the audiwards, ence worked quite as well. There seemed a sort of semi-organised feeling of chaos about it all.
There was also, to my mind, a problem with the notion of introducing new audiences to opera. During the interval and after- I spoke to a lady who was unfamiliar with the proceedings – and was left feeling more than a little confused.
I think one of the reasons was the lack of surtitles in English. There may well have been technical problems with this in the setting – but they really can be most helpful for an operatic novice. The lack of a proper synopsis in the programme did not help, either.
But I don’t want to be too negative. This ground-breaking presentation of opera was a great idea and I hope it will be repeated. If the teething troubles and issues of understanding can be solved, this could be a fabulous way of bringing opera to the people.