Opera North brought a rare double bill to the Lowry Theatre for one night only on Friday 8th March. Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring was presented in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre, a Leeds based dance company, and was a truly wonderful performance. Although The Rite of Spring is a ballet, it is more often performed as a standard of the classical orchestra repertoire. It is rarely performed outside the concert hall, which is not a suitable place for dance and orchestra for logistical reasons.
The Orchestra of Opera North, under the baton of Garry Walker, performed Stravinsky’s difficult score superbly. So many details in the score were given fresh life due to Walker’s keen direction – the opening bassoon part was as haunting as ever, but the moments of polyphony between other woodwind instruments that followed this opening phrase were interpreted as a dialogue between each part rather than the usual chaotic overlap that is usually heard. There were moments where I heard things that I had never heard before – it was a truly wonderful performance from start to finish. Technical challenges were mastered with ease, and an emotional interpretation – if that is the right word – was stimulating and engrossing.
It was a treat to hear this wonderful performance and also watch Phoenix Dance Theatre perform their interpretation of the ballet. This too was mesemerising. This interpretation was of course performed in contemporary style as was the original in 1913, but apart from a couple of nods to some of the original choreography through some hypnotically, overly repeated phrases, there was little similarity with the original. Haitian choreographer Jeanguy Saintus provided a voodoo theme which really suited the Rite of Spring, with its ritualistic practices of dance, music and belief in spiritual possession.
The set was beyond minimalist – no backdrops or staging at all, and no coloured lighting. The Lowry, then, was a huge black box style theatre. This really drew our attention to every detail of the dancing, and rightly so. There were eight performers – four male and four female. Phoenix Dance Theatre is passionate about diversity and equality and this was very subtly reflected in this performance. There was a theme of uniformity among the dancers and this was reflected in the costumes, designed by Yann Seabra. Each dancer wore exactly the same outfit – white trousers with white, backless halterneck with a slight plunge. Later on, the dancers added a flowing bustle style skirt to their trousers. Each skirt was lined with a different vibrant colour, providing the only idea of individuality to the troupe.
While these two costumes certainly matched the movement, there was a very strong but subtle unisex idea which was very clever in that there were elements of traditionally male and female costume – trousers and skirt. The male dancers did not look feminised in these clothes, nor did the female dancers appear masculine. There was a true uniformity in appearance, further emphasised by a complete removal of individuality or facial expression among the performers. The blend of male and female in appearance was almost a removal of gender. Traditional roles of male and female dancer were too disregarded. The Rite of Spring has a clear gender element – the males in the pagan community choose a group of virgin girls from which one will be sacrificed for a bountiful harvest. There is a sage and then the chosen virgin. Saintus blurs these ideas. The Dance of The Young Girls was clearly performed by the four males, alone on stage. But they did not perform as a female dancer, nor indeed did they perform as a male dancer. Gender had nothing to do with it. This theme really struck home to me, being performed on International Woman’s Day, but I think that was a coincidence. Yet, Saintus’s interpretation was not a moralistic tale of gender – it was simply a style that was very effective in the story of this voodoo ritual. The narrative of The Rite of Spring was offered in the programme but there were no notes as to Saintus’ contextual ideas. The story was not followed as clearly as the original, but the blurring of themes and ideas seemed more important than the narrative – this was intentional. The dancing flowed beautifully and gracefully – while occasionally you could hear a slight breath from the performers, their foot movement was practically silent throughout. Canon was used extensively to great effect, exaggerated repetition, falls and moments of extreme convulsion as ritual drugs were taken contrasted with a fantastic leaping and twisting section when the skirts were applied – this allowed the flash of colour to be fully extended like a fan with each rotation of the dancer, it was fast and hypnotic. There were some true spine tingling moments in this production right down to the very last moment. If I have one criticism, it is subjective. The final moment, which should be of high impact, was not narratively clear – nobody fell dead to the stage as is expected, but oddly this did not detract from the whole performance. There was a clear and intentional blurring of narrative and style.
Between the orchestra and the dance, this was a spectacular performance and a visionary interpretation of the Rite of Spring. It takes a brave and accomplished choreographer to allow such stretches away from the original intention of this ballet, Saintus did so expertly.
The second act of the evening was the not often performed one act opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini and directed by Christopher Alden. This was a hilarious romp of an opera and would be a great entry to opera for anyone that would be put off by or scared of the supposed high brow artistic conventions of opera. The story is a classic – the fantastically rich but old Buosi Donati dies. His cousins and various family members assemble not out of grief but in hope to have been remembered in the will. We are told of rumours that he has left all to the monks in the local monastery so a frantic search for the will ensues. Rinuccio, nephew of Buosi’s cousin Zita, finds the will but says he will not hand it over unless he is given permission to marry the low status Lauretta, daughter of Gianni Schicchi. Permission is granted and the will is then read to reveal that indeed all has been left to the monks. Gianni Schicchi appears and is implored to help the family regain their inheritance. He comes up with a plan - he will pretend to be Buosi on his death bed, a notary will be called and a new will made leaving all to the family. They all agree – but at the last moment, Schicchi leaves the best part of the estate to his dear devoted friend – Gianni Schicchi! The family are helpless to object lest they reveal their complicitness in the crime. The notary leaves with the new will and Schicchi drives the family out of his new home. In the end, he leaves the house and estate to his daughter Lauretta and her soon to be husband Rinuccio.
This comedy is almost a Puccini 'Christmas Special' – there is never a moment of seriousness and in the style of true Italian commedia dell’arte is a raucous romp which never sits down. Opera North interpreted this with its usual attention to detail and sumptuous setting. Although the set was simpler in some ways than other performances – there was a back wall that was pure white with a band of italianate bas-relief mural along the top with the only other set piece being Buosi’s ornate death bed. This bed was used in many ways, it was wheeled here and there, the high headboard climbed on. The white wall was a great back drop to the stunning costumes by Doey Luthi. The style here was of a richly tailored 1950s Italian fashion, complete with signature sunglasses, combined with contemporary twists. We are clearly in the present day – the young Gherardino is listening to music with huge headphones from an ipad or tablet of some sort. He takes a selfie with the dead Buosi in the background.
While this opera was indeed a laugh a minute – with some truly fantastic comedy acting from all on stage – the singing and music was quite exquisite. This is not an opera that has many arias, but is mostly sung dialogue with every character on stage almost all the time. The notable exception is the famous 'O Mio Babbino Caro' which was sung beautifully by Tereza Gevorgyan. This aria is often sung in concerts and is known the world over. It is quite dramatic and sad, but in the context of the opera setting, Gevorgyan performed it with a hint of humour as if she was a teenager who was acting in a typically dramatic fashion. The orchestra of Opera North, again conducted by Garry Walker, played wonderfully. This is an interesting score by Puccini and represents his later stage of composition. There are slight elements of dissonance and a move to embrace some early 20th century flavours, but it is full of the many characteristics of Puccini’s music and never leaves the late romantic style.
Schicchi himself, performed excellently by Richard Burkhard, was an entirely believable gangster swindler type. He mastered singing in the higher register when imitating the old Buosi and gave a wonderful vocal and dramatic display.
Each and every performer was able to act and sing beyond the stock comedy characters of the opera. This was a fantastic production that had a great reaction from the audience from start to finish. Two performers need a special mention – both of whom barely spoke a word the entire night! Firstly, the young Gherardo, performed either by Ben Hinchliffe or Frazer Lee (the programme did not specify which performed on this date) was a fantastic cheeky, sultry budding teenager who danced and mimed his part with ease, stealing the show every time he moved. The second was the character of Buosi played in mime by Tim Claydon. He presented an acrobatic, commedia dell’arte comic role that was ever-present on stage observing what was going on. He was literally climbing up the walls and swinging off ropes, clearly distinguishable from the others with his shocking white hair and blood red long john suit.
It is a shame that this production of Gianni Schicchi was on for one night only and I hope it returns to the Lowry soon.
Reviewer - Aaron Loughrey
on - 8/3/19
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