A wonderful double-double
SARAH SCOTT REVIEWS THE OPERA NORTH LITTLE GREATS SEASON AT NEWCASTLE’S THEATRE ROYAL
PAGLIACCI and CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
THERE are strict rules to be observed in opera. If a woman dallies outside of the marital bed, someone will die and if it’s set in the 70s, it’s a tragedy.
This double bill, the opening of Opera North’s latest season of short works with big emotion adheres to both while striving to break barriers to the art form.
Firstly we have Pagliacci (The Clowns) by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Here is a Commedia dell-Arte Troupe where the chief clown’s make-up masks a violent, embittered soul (Peter Auty as Canio).
The well-crafted work has eclipsed others by Leoncavallo and as well as being instantly recognisable to Queen fans (It’s A Hard Life takes its first line and melody from one of the works arias), it is an inspired score and a moving, sinister tale of domestic violence, attempted rape and deceit on and offstage.
Katie Bird’s Nessa is a rare treat, as she only sings this role in Newcastle and her performance was captivating: a warm and sensuous voice and an impressive depth of integrity.
The design concept for Pagliacci was complex in that it provides a base for all of the other operas in the season, so that we are looking onto backstage flats bearing the names of the other operas in the season.
The set is purposefully mundane, with barely anything aesthetically pleasing until a stunning reveal, when the lights haemorrage blood red and the sinister presence of Canio (Peter Auty) appears, channelling Pennywise’s cousin. A thrilling, chilling picture.
Our second piece is Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry).
Here, the drab setting (1970s Poland) is starkly beautiful, minimal but striking. The music, again, is instantly familiar and the beauty of it brings tears to the eye from the moment the music begins.
The plot, as such, is as sparse as the stage once the sexual shenanigans have occurred early on – a religious lady seduced by Turiddù who is in love with another man’s wife, everyone sings about it until the gentlemen find their own solution.
Jonathan Stoughton brings a rugged, undeniably hot charm to Turiddù and the piece is achingly beautiful to listen to. A perfect programme to open this season – bitesize brilliance.
TROUBLE IN TAHITI and TRIAL BY JURY
THIS was a distinctly two-course meal, which offers up for newcomers a true taste of some of the delights of opera and what this outstanding company can do.
There is Leonard Bernstein’s first opera, Trouble in Tahiti, a short but substantial work followed by a funfest in the form of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury.
Trouble in Tahiti shows a fractured marriage, in which the two partners are no longer communicating with each other, except through arguments.
This is contrasted visually to the domestic dream they were sold, through battered billboards of adverts for domestic bliss and musically, through some perfect harmonies from the Trio, a radio jazz group.
The central duo are perfectly cast in Quirijn de Lang as the husband and Wallis Giunta, a new star of Opera North, as his wife. There is an honesty to the relationship, as well as technical mastery from both.
Bernstein’s piece is from the heart and reflects elements of his own experiences.
The score is complex and intriguing; there are the whisperings of ideas which Bernstein will develop for his masterpiece, West Side Story, a few years later.
The symphonic sound is gorgeously clean and controlled from the Orchestra, conducted by Tobias Ringborg. I would have loved to have seen a little more developed sense of movement in this piece, but it was altogether an absorbing, beautiful production.
In high contrast after the interval, we had the frothy romp that is G&S’s Trial by Jury.
The company are clearly having as much fun as you can legally have with this comic opera. Angelina (Amy Freston) is the plaintiff in the case and she brings a case of breach of a promise of marriage against amiable Edwyn to the jury and our ‘Learned’ judge Jeremy Peaker, more often found in Opera North’s Chorus, but a lovely old buffoon here.
While the ideas and premise of this hugely witty satire reflect the late-19th century, the setting is more enigmatic, with fox furs and our heroine’s pet chihuahua. We loved the dog and my daughter traced its movements like a bloodhound.
The score washes over one a bit, but the lyrics are brilliant. It feels like a gorgeous, slightly naughty extravagance to bring this to the repertoire.
There was plenty of giggling from the audience and beaming smiles at the end. Director John Savournin masterminds a perfect organised chaos in the courtroom which is entertaining but never detracting. It’s a joyful production.