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| Billy Bourchier (Tony) - Nina Korbe (Maria) in "West Side Story". |
Book by
Arthur Laurents – Music by Leonard Bernstein – Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by
Francesca Zambello – Associate Director Eric Sean Fogel
Musical
Director – Guy Simpson – Set Design by Brian Thomson
Original
Choreography by Jerome Robbins – Revival Choreographer: Kiira Schmidt Carper
Costume
Design by Jennifer Irwin – Lighting Design by John Rayment
Sound Design
by Des O’Neil – Revival Sound design by Jake Luther.
Presented by
Opera Australia – Fleet Steps, Mrs MacQuaries Point – March 22 to April 21 2024
Opening
night performance 22nd March reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
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| The Jets in action during "West Side Story" |
It was
choreographer Jerome Robbins who conceived the idea of a contemporary version
of “Romeo and Juliet”. Robbins enlisted Leonard Bernstein (music) and Arthur
Laurents (book) to work with him on the project. However it took them five
years before a news report of gang violence between Puerto Rican and
Anglo-American street kids sparked the creative impetus which resulted in one
of the most celebrated and constantly revived Broadway musicals of all time.
But not even
Robbins, Bernstein, Laurents or Stephen Sondheim, who by that time had joined
the team, could have imagined their creation about two rival street gangs being
performed outdoors on a perfect autumn night, on a giant stage, two and a half
times larger than any indoor stage in Australia, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge,
Opera House and dazzling skyline forming a spectacular backdrop to a story that
remains as timeless and relevant as when it was created 67 years ago.
In a
remarkable display of directorial finesse , Associate Director, Eric Sean Fogel
has exploited every surprise contained in Brian Thomson’s deceivingly minimalist
set design; John Rayment’s extraordinary
lighting design which kept the audience attention focussed with pinpoint
accuracy; and Des O’Neill’s masterful sound
design, carefully reproduced by Jake Luther to ensure that every note of
Bernstein’s ground-breaking score, and every word of Sondheim’s
lyrics and Laurent’s dialogue was heard with stunning clarity, to expose
previously unsuspected nuance in this revival of Francesco Zambello’s acclaimed
2019 production.
Although
Zambello’s concept for an outdoor production requires radical technical
departures in the staging, she has insisted on staying with the original
Robbins choreography, which for this revival is reproduced by Kiira Schmidt
Carper, together with assistants, Brendan Yeates and Luca Dinardo. Admirably
they have been meticulous in insisting that their large team of accomplished
dancers master even the finest details of Robbins’ still remarkable
choreography.
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| The Sharks during the Dance at the Gym in "West Side Story". |
The size of
the stage requires the dancers to cover huge distances quickly, and the fact
that the stage is raked adds an extra degree of difficulty. But spurred on by
Bernstein’s extraordinary score, which has rarely sounded more compelling than
as interpreted here by the magnificent Opera Australia Orchestra under the experienced
baton of Guy Simpson, the dancers enthusiastically embraced these challenges, attacking
the choreography with exhilarating joie de vivre and purpose so that Robbins’
choreography became more than just spectacle. It was also an essential
component of the storytelling.
Appropriately
Opera Australia has chosen an essentially young cast of this production. Unusually
though it has entrusted the two lead
roles to emerging artists both of whom are making their professional theatrical
debuts in leading roles in a major musical. For both Nina Korbe and Billy Bourchier these
roles will be star-makers.
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| Jayme Jo Massoud (Francisca) - Rebecca Ordiz (Rosalia) - Nina Korbe (Maria) - Emma Feliciano (Consuelo) performing "I Feel Pretty" |
First Nations
soprano, Nina Korbe, is a beautiful, vivacious Maria. It’s easy to see why Tony
would fall in love with her on first sight. She is also a resourceful actress
who managed to make convincing the difficult “I Feel Pretty” scene in which
Maria is so giddily in love that her friends can barely recognise her. If her
operatically trained voice occasionally sounded too mature for her character,
it should be remembered that when Bernstein made a studio recording of this show,
he chose opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras for his Maria and Tony.
Although he’s covered leading roles on Opera Australia’s production of “Phantom of the Opera” as well as professional productions of “Les Miserables”, “Book of Mormon” and “The Last Five Years”, handsome Canberra born tenor, Billy Bourchier, thrilled with his confident singing and stage presence as the love-struck Tony. From the moment he launched into “Something’s Coming” the audience realised that it was witnessing something special. However it was his soaring rendition of “Maria”, when midway through, he held an unusually long sustained, “Maria” over the orchestra that earned him cheers. Questioned after the performance, Bourchier confided that there are two versions of this song. Most Tonys choose the version without that spectacular interpolation.
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| Kimberley Hodgson (c) as Anita and the Sharks in "West Side Story". |
Kimberley
Hodgson, so impressive as Gigi in “Miss Saigon”, confirmed her versatility as
the fiery Anita, opposite experienced Broadway performer, Manuel Stark Santos,
in his first Australian production, as her possessive boyfriend, Bernardo.
Given that
every member of the cast offered strong, committed performances, it seems
invidious to single out individual members. However particularly eye-catching, were
Molly Bugeja, who bought an unexpected vulnerability to her interpretation of
Anybodys; Luke Jarvis seething dangerously with suppressed anger as the
headstrong Action, and Wayne Scott Kermond who offered a masterclass in how to
make a small role memorable with his authoritive performance as the café owner,
Doc.
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| Wayne Scott Kerman (Doc) and Billy Bourchier (Tony) in "West Side Story" |
Over the
years this reviewer has been fortunate to have experienced many versions of “West
Side Story”. Most have been excellent, but none have eclipsed vivid memories of
the original 1960 Australian production in the Princess Theatre in Melbourne,
performed by an American cast which included dancer, Ronne Arnold, and conductor,
Dobbs Franks, both of whom stayed on to enrich Australia’s theatre history.
Memories of Jean Rosenthal’s remarkable lighting design, the red fire-escapes which
appeared magically out of the blackness, the remarkable ribbon curtain which preceded
the dance at the Gym, and the stunning first act curtain, are seared indelibly
into the memory.
Although
none of those moments are duplicated in this production, it produced that same
sense of excitement and discovery as experienced all those years ago, and will
now join those memories for the authenticity with which it has captured the
creators intentions.
Images by Keith Saunders
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
