Two highly disparate works from the 1950s are combined in this third new production of Buxton’s current Opera Festival. Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble In Tahiti (a slight misnomer of a title, as Tahiti itself is not the location of the opera and the place itself is only referenced obliquely) premiered in 1952 is a prescient and searching commentary on the spiritual desolation of consumerist America, while Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine is a monodrama for female voice, using the text of Jean Cocteau’s notorious stage monologue. Director Daisy Evans achieves a considerable dramatic feat in interlinking the two, so there appears to be an element of continuity at play - it’s tenuous, but it doesn’t feel contrived as it could easily have done (and it won’t be revealed here - go and see it to find out!).
The Bernstein work is an interesting hybrid - it opens like a Broadway musical (and in some ways anticipates the composer’s defining work West Side Story) but develops in a way that shows greater kinship with Bernstein’s contemporary, Gian-Carlo Menotti: Sam (Charles Rice) and Dinah (Hanna Hipp) are an aspirational New York couple whose perfect life is undermined by their own dissatisfaction with what they have - she, a housewife, feels trapped by maternity, he, a business executive, relieves the pressure of Wall Street by having affairs. Both are aware that a more fulfilling life exists somewhere, but it eludes them, while a trio of ‘commentators’ (Chloe Hare-Jones, Harun Tekin and Ross Cumming) offer witty apercus on their situation. The piece packs considerable depth into its forty-five minute length and the thoughtful staging certainly adds to the impact - as do the involved performances of Rice and Hipp - though it’s a shame one crucial scene was sited too far over to stage left, making what was going on less than clear to those in certain seats.
La Voix Humaine is a much darker prospect: an intense monologue delivered by a woman abandoned by her married lover but still seeking a connection with him via that infuriating twentieth century communication device, the telephone. Mezzo Allison Cook, bringing her vast experience of ‘solo’ shows to bear on the character only known as ‘Elle’, shows how to dominate the stage through sheer conviction, just as she does in the Festival’s concurrent production of Hamlet.
With adroit musical direction from Iwan Davies conducting a specially selected orchestra, an almost expressionist set by Loren Elstein and effective lighting from Jake Wiltshire, this double bill amounts to an artistic triumph for all concerned and is the most successful production of the Festival so far.
Further productions 19th, 23rd and 25th July.
https://buxtonfestival.co.uk/whats-on/opera-double-bill-trouble-in-taihiti-and-la-voix-humaine
Reviewer: Paul Ashcroft
On: 15/7/2025
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