Look what they’ve done to our Little Mermaid!
THE story of the Little Mermaid has been bringing tears to the eyes ever since Hans Christian Andersen wrote it in the 19th century.
But the latest operatic production of the classic tale brought an angry barrage of boos from the audience.
The controversial adaptation is set in a modern-day brothel, portrays the mermaid as a prostitute and features scantily-clad women cavorting around the stage.
Some spectators were so disgusted by the ‘vulgar’ production of Rusalka – Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s version of the story – that they walked out during the interval.
Many of those who remained to the end, some of whom had paid up to £180 for a ticket, made their displeasure loudly known as the curtain fell.
First performed in 1901, Rusalka tells of a mermaid who longs to leave her underwater kingdom.
She makes a bargain with a witch, who enables her to walk like a human. But she suffers heartbreak after falling in love with a handsome prince, and is forced to return to the sea. The Little Mermaid was turned into a children’s animation by Walt Disney in 1989.
However, the fairy tale’s latest interpretation by directors Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito is much less family-friendly and recasts the witch as an evil brothel madam.
University researcher Jane Tinkler, 39, was among those who could bear only half of Monday night’s production at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
‘The singing was great,’ she said. ‘But the costumes and the set were awful.
‘The whole production looked low-budget, vulgar and tacky. It reminded me of The Only Way Is Essex because it all looked so cheap. The heroine was dressed in a tracksuit and some of the stage props looked like they had been bought in a garden centre.
‘When a man in a catsuit marched on stage I knew I had to leave. Luckily my ticket only cost £13, so I didn’t bother asking for a refund. But God knows what people in the expensive seats felt about it.’
Christine Hodgson, 50, said: ‘This is the first time I have ever heard the designers being booed by the whole house.
‘The prince took off his wedding outfit and changed into an unappealing T-shirt. It was almost as if they went to a charity shop and found whatever they could.’ Last year the Royal Opera House, which receives public funding, was accused of dumbing down with an opera about Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.
Its director of opera Kasper Holten defended the performance of Rusalka yesterday, insisting some audience members enjoyed it.
He said: ‘There were people booing the production team, but also people shouting bravo at the same time.’
A spokesman for the Royal Opera House added: ‘It’s safe to say Rusalka is causing debate and a great deal of interest.’ He said no one had yet asked for a refund.