OPERA: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Adapted from the Shakespearean comedy by composer Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, this opera is a seductive and lush experience. The plot is faithful to its source, as four lovers and a group of amateur players are caught up in a feud between Oberon, king of the fairies (countertenor Tobias Cole) and his queen, Tytania (Rachel Durkin) over custody of a little boy. Although the libretto retains its references to the forest outside Athens, director Baz Luhrmann has reset the action in India during the 1920s. Catherine Martin and Bill Marron’s gorgeous design features a three-layered pagoda with the orchestra performing on the middle level, led by conductor Alexander Briger. The singing is top notch: Cole, Durkin, Jud Arthur (Theseus) and Catherine Carby (Hyppolyta), and the lovers – James Egglestone (Lysander), Sian Pendry (Hermia), Luke Gabbedy (Demetrius) and Lisa Harper-Brown (Helena) – all give great performances. Conal Coad is hilarious as Bottom, Tyler Coppin is an excellent Puck, the children’s chorus is utterly charming and the acrobats give the production vitality. But it is the look, the utter gorgeousness of the scenery, the costumes and the lighting that transports the audience to a summer fairyland. This opera is a luscious visual and aural feast.
Until Mar 24, Sydney Opera House, $95-350, 9318 8200, opera-australia.org.au
