By Giuseppe
Verdi
Opera
Australia – Sydney Opera House until February 12th 2013
Performance
16th January 2013 reviewed by Bill Stephens
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| Jose Carbo as Count Ankarstrom-Diego Torre as Gustav 111 Taryn Fiebig as Oscar - The Opera Australia Chorus Photo: Lisa Tomasetti |
What a bleak
totalitarian world King Gustav 111 and his minions inhabit in this
extraordinary vision of a futuristic
Orwellian world imagined by Director Alex
Olle and designers Alfons Flores and Lluc Castells for this arresting
production, which was given its world
premiere at the Sydney Opera House by Opera Australia .
The sensuous
images of nude male body parts projected over the overture set up an entirely
different expectation to the bleak world revealed at curtain rise. Tall
concrete corridors, silent lifts ascending and descending, and computer
imagery, inhabited by dehumanised, blue- suited men and women, distinguished
from each other only by numbers stencilled on their backs. All wear masks, not
the glamorous sequined variety worn on opening night by some of the audience,
but identical fleshy affairs which cover head and face leaving only eyes and
mouths exposed. The only exception is the
King, who wears a shiny silver metal mask. Later in the opera, two of the
principal characters tear off their masks to reveal their true selves. Otherwise,
the audience has to rely on vocal differences to differentiate between
characters. It says something of the power of the writing, and the clarity of
the staging, that this was not as difficult as it sounds.
Verdi’s “A
Masked Ball” is based on real events surrounding the assassination of King
Gustov 111 of Sweden during a masked ball in the eighteenth century. The time and place of events were changed to
satisfy nervous censors, therefore, though this current setting may upset those
expecting lavish ball gowns and gilt ballrooms, it works surprising well in
serving the storyline, the intent of the
opera and by focussing attention on Verdi’s brilliantly descriptive score.
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| Tamar Iveri as Amelia - Diego Torre as King Gustav 111 Photo:Prudence Upton |
The action centres on the King’s attempts to seduce Amelia, the wife of his loyal secretary, Count Ankarstrom. However, when Ankarstrom learns of the affair between Amelia and the King, he joins a conspiracy planned by courtiers to assassinate the King.
During the masked ball he persuades Oscar, the King’s young pageboy, to reveal the identity of the king, whom he then stabs. Before dying however, the King reveals that his love for Amelia was unrequited, and forgives his assassin and the conspirators.
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| Tama Iveri as Amelia - Jose Carbo as Ankarstrom Photo: Prudence Upton |
Taryn
Fiebig, as the pageboy Oscar, also sings brilliantly while investing her
character with a welcome lightness without sacrificing any of the dramatic
intensity. Another special pleasure of
this production is the haunting, rich voice of Mariana Pentcheva, as the
fortune-teller Ulrica, who provides an
unforgettable interlude as she foretells the events which are about to
transpire. In lesser roles Richard Anderson, Andrew Brunsdon and Jud Arthur
each lend solid dramatic and vocal support.
Of course it
wouldn’t be a Verdi opera without the huge orchestra and chorus, and for this
production, Maestro Andrea Molino, has at his disposal the huge Australian
Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Opera Australia chorus from whom he
confidently coaxes a very stylish, impressive performance of one of Verdi’s
most luscious scores,to put the seal on a memorable, exciting and
challenging night of opera.
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| Diego Torre as King Gustav 111 - Jose Carbo as Count Ankarstrom Photo: Lisa Tomasetti |