OPERA REVIEW: The Cunning Little Vixen - Theatre Royal, Nottingham.

Janacek’s 'Cunning Little Vixen' had its genesis in a comic-strip printed in a Czech newspaper in the early 1920s: an ongoing tale about the adventures of a clever she-fox. In creating his opera, the composer transcended this very simple material to produce a multi-faceted work that has been variously considered a children’s opera, a comic opera, a tragi-comedy or even a straightforward tragedy. However it may finally be labelled, there is no denying the unsettling power of a work that combines playfulness with serious intent as we accompany Vixen Sharp Ears on her life-cycle, starting with her abduction as a cub by the Forester, her eventual escape and ruthless sequestering of the old Badger’s home, her meeting and courtship with the Fox leading to ‘marriage’, motherhood and then to her eventual death at the hands of a poacher - an event we are encouraged to see less as an avoidable event as much as part of the renewing cycle of life.

David Pountney’s 1980 production, here revived by Elaine Tyler-Hall, is now of an age when it ought to be called ‘venerable’, but the ideas that underpin it still have vitality and provide several moments of pure theatre - notably, when the change of the season from winter to spring is effected by the ‘magical’ removal of the white sheets that had signified snow to reveal the green rolling plains of the countryside! The late Maria Bjornson’s versatile set, which allows the action to travel from the wide open spaces of the forest to a number of interior locations (the Forester’s house, a chicken coop, an inn) facilitates the swift pace of the action while accommodating the composer’s more reflective moments.

Leading a uniformly strong cast, Elin Pritchard is a splendidly convincing Vixen, carefully plotting the character’s development from the unsuccessfully domesticated creature of the first scenes to the confident predator of the finale. The extended love duet in the Second Act, between the Vixen and her amorous suitor, the Fox (a convincingly boyish Heather Lowe) may be the strangest in all opera.

Elsewhere, there is strength is depth from the human contingent: Richard Burkhard deploys his resonant baritone to moving effect as the Forester and Paul Nilon is both comedic and moving as a lovesick Schoolmaster. Some marvellous vocal cameos also from bass Henry Waddington who makes the Parson’s Act 1 monologue a moment to savour and Paul Gibson as the extremely pompous (and speedily evicted ) Badger.

In the pit, Oliver Randell shows flair and mastery in Janacek’s distinctive idiom - the composer’s hallmark style of building up themes from the repetition of tiny motifs is unmistakeable - and the orchestra responds well to his leadership. The (very freely adapted) libretto is given in English here, which is less of a problem in Janacek than it is in certain other composers - ironically, since Janacek took great care to replicate Czech speech rhythms in his vocal writing. This is the perfect introductory opera for very young children, and makes a pleasing alternative to Hansel Und Gretel!

Reviewer - Paul Ashcroft
on - 14.3.23