Death in Venice is a triumph
TO DESCRIBE Death in Venice as an opera is to do it something of a disservice. In the hands of director Olivia Fuchs, Welsh National Opera’s new production of Benjamin Britten’s final opera is an amalgam of art forms in which music, movement and multimedia collide in spectacular fashion.
Staged in partnership with Cardiff’s NoFit State, dance and design are woven into this tale of unobtainable obsession that ensnares the viewer as much as its main protagonist.
Based on Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella, a work that might be described as “problematic” by today’s standards, we join Gustav von Aschenbach, an acclaimed but frustrated middle-aged German writer, who flees to the city of canals in search of inspiration. What he finds repels him – drunken fops, fraudulent gondoliers, and an oppressive climate that weighs down on his body and mind. Yet amid this disappointment he discovers a ray of light in the physical appearance of a teenage boy named Tadzio, whom
he deems to be a living work of art, the personification of the Greek ideals of beauty. What begins as admiration quickly descends into mania and will ultimately lead to the demise alluded to in the title.
A central theme of the opera, much like the original text and Luchino Visconti’s critically acclaimed 1971 film adaptation, is the gaze. Aschenbach is spying on the object of his desire throughout, and as members of the audience, we are compelled to join in his voyeurism. In this case, the targets of his gaze are the exceptional dancers of NoFit State, and more specifically Antony
César as Tadzio. Conveying themes of longing and attraction in their physical movements, they integrate tightrope walking and trapezing into a finely balanced act that complements rather than overwhelms the music. This is aided by a minimalist stage design and atmospheric lighting that ensures our focus remains squarely on the central characters, with a backdrop playing complementary ambient video scenes, such as crashing waves, throughout.
Death in Venice is a work that asks a lot of its lead, and Mark Le Brocq is excellent as the infatuated writer.
Flitting from tender desperation to existential agony, he is caught between two extremes that, much like having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, are personified by the figures of Apollo (Alexander Chance), who represents form and control, and Dionysius, who urges him on to chaos and revelry. Taunting him throughout is the fantastic baritone Roderick Williams, who oozes stage presence not only as Dionysius but seven different characters in total, from the barber to the hotel manager and a standout turn as the seedy leader of a pack of street performers.
Leo Hussain conducts WNO Orchestra with drama and dynamism, while WNO Chorus excel in what is a remarkable team effort, not only from the company but from the wider Cardiff creative scene.
As a rarely staged opera, Death in Venice will already be a must-see for many; when it’s this good, it should be a must-see for many more.