Tag: romance

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Reviews, News and Commentary

NZ Opera’s Rigoletto: a tale of love, despair, anger and corruption

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Rigoletto (James Clayton) Image Jinki Cambronero

Rigoletto

Music by Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

NZ Opera, by arrangement with Opera Australia

Kiri Te Kanawa Aotea Centre

Until September 25

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

From the opening doom-laden chords through to the anguished sounds of the  final moments of Rigoletto the audience was carried along by the glorious music which conjured up feelings of love, despair, anger and malevolence as we follow one mans destiny, overcome by the deceitful and immoral world he lives in.

Tyrants, and  corrupt leaders have always had the ability to corrupt other people and surround themselves with equally corrupt yes men. Rigoletto takes us into that world of, deceit and amorality. It is a bleak world where the  occasional flicker of light and love is quickly extinguished

The first act opens with the Duke of Mantua and his courtiers cavorting in an impressive reception room with references to La dolce Vita of the 1950’s. It is a world where the dinner suits and fabulous dresses disguise the lecherous goings on.

We also encounter Rigoletto dressed as the court jester – a mixture of Ronald McDonald and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he peels off his make up surrounded by his various costumes. He is an actor who must play many parts, just as the other members of the Dukes court play  out their roles.

The first act’s dramatic opening is just the start of probably one of the most mature and intelligent productions of the opera and one which kept the audience enthralled.

One of the problems I have always had with the opera is the curse with which Monterone damns Rigoletto and the duke early on. The notion that he has been cursed preys on Rigoletto mind throughout the opera and when his daughter dies in his arms, he shrieks about the curse has been fulfilled. Of course, the evil Duke still lives, so the curse has not affected him.

In fact, Rigoletto himself is the reason his daughter has been killed, Rigoletto himself is the curse and she dies because of his deceit and immorality rather than anyone else’s.

The Duke and his various courtiers are not particularly evil. They act as many men of business or politicians, using or skirting the law in an amoral fashion. It is Rigoletto who embarks on a course of revenge with the decision to hire an assassin to kill the Duke.

The courtiers and the Duke are also upfront about what they do. It is Rigoletto who presents a façade at court as well as to his daughter, withholding the truth of his relationship with the Duke and his early life even from her.

This veneer which he presents is his undoing. His pretense of an irritating, sycophantic fool at court hides a deep-seated resentment. His lack of awareness of his involvement with amoral activities as well as presenting as a cloying and over protective father is his weakness, his flaw, his curse.

James Clayton in the role of Rigoletto has to convey Rigoltto’s complex set of attributes and flaws. His character never becomes over demonstrative, there is always a sense of him holding back in his expression of love, hate, contempt. It is too easy to have Rigoletto portrayed as a twisted character who is obviously deformed physically as well as mentally and Clayton carefully avoids this.

His “Pari siama” (How alike we are) when singing of the assassin Sparafucile is haunting in its exposure of Rigoletto’s awareness of his own wretchedness, his voice catches with shuddering emotion at just the right point. Then he superbly transitions to his singing as devoted father of Gilda.  This ability to capture his two personalities, the heartless and the warm showed in just a couple minutes showed a singer with able to convey deep psychological states with exquisite refinement.

Gilda (Elena Perroni and the Duke (Amitai Pati) Image Jinki Cambronero

As Gilda, Elena Perroni created a character which expressed all the conflicting emotions of a young woman exposed to the ache and desperation of love, the terror of kidnap, the embarrassment of talking to her father about her seduction and the confusion of being dragged into the adult world.

Her voice soars with emotional expression in arias such as “Care nome” (Dear name) where effervescent and passion erupt.

Amitai Pati sang gloriously as the hedonist Duke with just the right mix of bravado and self-awareness. In his role as Gilda’s lover his voice took on an elegant combination of romanticism and cynicism which helped create a fully rounded, disreputable character.

Maddalena (Sian Sharp) and Sparafucile (Jud Arthur) Image Jinki Cambronero

Jud Arthur’s Sparafucile was suitably threatening with his mundane approach to killing,. His silky voice resonated with darkness and menace, his body tense with suppressed nervous energy.

Sian Sharp was impressive as Maddalena, Sparafucile’s sister and she added a sensual dimension to the final quartet when she sings with the Duke, Rigoletto and Gilda in a profound “Bella figlia” (Lovely woman).

The set designs by Michael Yeargan are impressive from the lavish palace interior to the brilliantly detailed house/ bar interior constructed on a revolving stage which helps concentrate the action.

This is a restaging of the work originally directed by Elijah Moshinsky and rehearsed by Shane Placentino who has done a splendid job in realizing the work.

As ever the New Zealand Opera Chorus was in great form and conductor James Judd deftly led the Auckland Philharmonia ensuring that the music added to the overall dramatic effect, dominating when it needed to but always allowing the singers the space to let their voices shine.

With this production director, designers, soloists chorus and musicians have brought together a seamless tale of brilliantly rounded characters with vivid emotions and contemporary relevance.

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Reviews, News and Commentary

A warm endearing night out

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

By Deborah Moggach
Director, Lucy Waterhouse
Producers, Stewart and Tricia Macpherson, Ben MacDonald
With
Rula Lenska, Harmage Singh Kalirai, Shaan Kesha, Sudeepta Vyas, Dhiya Redding, Georgina Monro,
Helen Moulder, Edward Newborn, Cathy Downes, Annie Ruth, Paul Barrett, Ravi Gurunathan, Alvin Maharaj, Tiahli Martyn, Kate Jasonsmith

Civic Theatre, Auckland until 5 May
then St James, Wellington and James Hay, Christchurch


Review by Malcolm Calder

I simply cannot remember when I last saw a large-scale commercial theatre production in this country. Music theatre and countless concerts yes, but not a straight play. In fact hardly ever!
Marigold Hotel is a huge commercial undertaking fraught with risk and a mammoth achievement.


So, first off, congratulations to the Macphersons and to Ben McDonald.

There’s always something about entering a big theatre that takes me back. Viscerally. Especially for something like this. Maybe it’s the deliciously faux theatrical decor, perhaps that unique smell or even just the sense of occasion that can never be replicated in smaller, newer venues. As such, I cannot even suggest a more apt stage for this production than Auckland’s Civic and its Wellington counterpart – I can only presume Christchurch’s Royal is unavailable.

Although she did not write the screenplay for the movie, Marigold Hotel is Deborah Moggach’s stage adaptation and is largely based on her original novel These Foolish Things. It was first produced in the UK a couple of years back and toured extensively before a run on the West End.

This New Zealand production brings in only the revered Harmage Singh Kalirai and the popular Rula Lenska from London to reprise the roles they created in the UK, and surrounds with a local cast overseen by Lucy Waterhouse to ensure consistency.

Put briefly, Marigold Hotel is hardly a serious drama. Rather it is a comedy that is endearing and loveable tale about a group of English retirees who, for diverse reasons, find themselves in a rundown
hotel in India. While not just a retread of the film, it presumes some familiarity with that source.


Miss Lenska’s Madge is a central role, and she is rightly billed as the star, Marigold Hotel is essentially an ensemble piece (supported with some backup) and provides ample opportunity for
each of the key characters to deliver from their immense experience. Many are recognisable, even for non-theatre afficionados, and it is a joy to see such on-point timing, situational awareness and
even improvisation around a couple of minor technical hitches with nary a blink.

There is not a weak link amongst them and some will remain memorable – Cathy Downes’ Dorothy being but one example.
Conversely, Moggach’s script provides only two-dimensional roles for most of the Indian characters. Harmage Singh Kalirai is a standout as the omnipresent Jimmy, but it was the near line-less Tikal
(Ravi Gurunathan) who captures with a rivetting on-stage presence, along with Sudeepta Vyas who wheedles and manipulates her Mrs Kapoor as only some mothers can.

However, it is also true to concede that Moggach’s first act might have benefitted more from tighter editing and the opposite in the second where the final denouement is a bit brisk.

On balance though, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a warm and heartfelt story with a joyous finale that assures audiences of a good night out. It is an undertaking that is far from small for its
producers, and a welcome opportunity for some of our finest character actors. All are to be congratulated.

I wallowed.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

Mansfield Park: The Future Looks Bright

Review by Malcolm Calder

Ashlyn Tymms (Fanny Price in Mansfield Park) Photo Lewis Ferris

Mansfield Park
Music by Jonathan Dove
Libretto by Alasdair Middleton
Based on the novel Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Director, Rebecca Meltzer
Maestro Concertatore, Brad Cohen
A New Zealand Opera production
Settlers Country Manor, Waimauku
Sunday, 21 April
With
Ashlyn Tymms (Fanny Price)
Kristin Darragh (Lady Bertram)
Robert Tucker (Sir Thomas Bertram)
Sarah Mileham (Maria Bertram)
Michaela Cadwgan (Julia Bertram)
Joel Amosa (Edmund Bertram)
Andrea Creighton (Aunt Norris)
Joanna Foote (Mary Crawford)
Taylor Wallbank (Henry Crawford)
Andrew Grenon (Mr Rushworth)
And
Soomin Kim and David Kelly (piano for four hands)

The incoming General Director of New Zealand Opera Brad Cohen has described Mansfield Park as a touchstone for the future. And judging by this offering of Mansfield Park, opera-lovers have a rather
fascinating future to look forward to.

Jonathan Dove’s score is contemporary, which may prove difficult for some but it points to an operatic future that is to be lauded and, unlike last year’s perhaps controversial Unruly Tourists, retains some links to literary tradition.


Mansfield Park is a two-act, 18 chapters adaptation of Jane Austen’s early 19th century novel. It takes a few liberties with the original but retains the essential context of the Crawford family and their grand old country pile in which familial mores, social positioning and aspirations are played out. Alasdair Middleton’s libretto deftly and succinctly summarises these in the very first chapter as being about ‘profit, pride, position, posterity and prestige’.


Remote niece, Fanny Price, is recently fostered into this social setting ‘for her betterment’ before patriarch Sir Henry soon departs for the family’s sugar plantation in Antigua. It soon becomes apparent that a simmering undercurrent of familial disputes, bad-mouthing, marital intrigues and
backstabbing are revealed before eventual resolution is reached. Through all this the quiet, reserved and subservient Fanny, grows with increasing maturity to become a shining example of all that is good, honest and true.


Mounted in semi-rural splendour of the main reception room at Settlers Country Manor at Waimauku near Kumeu, this initial offering is a chamber opera in the true sense of the word. There is no purpose-built stage as such and it is performed on and around a tiny elevated space measuring
perhaps 5m x 4m. Importantly for the future, this production is readily portable, relatively inexpensive to produce and could be easily mounted in a wide range of suitable spaces all over the
country.


Director Rebecca Meltzer copes with the questionable acoustics and difficult shape of the room by tossing out any hint of grand opera and uses the tiny performance space to elicit performances of nuance and subtlety from a 10-strong ensemble supported only by a single piano played by four hands. The entire reception hall (set up with rows of chairs for about 300) is used for entrances, exits and even voices from the rear of the room. Meltzer even allows more than just hints of that
actor’s stock in-trade – improvisation.


The effect is to offer a new and vibrantly different connection for audiences who are almost invited to become a part of the Crawford family either as flies on the wall, or perhaps imagining themselves as auxiliary staff or even just as close observers. Proximity to the performers induces intimacy and connection, something hammered home at one point when an audience member becomes part of the action on the stage.


This is a genuine and uniformly strong ensemble cast that feeds off, balances and enhances each other so it is no surprise that, as a unit, it was genuinely strong. Some of the lyrics were occasionally lost in the acoustics but these were readily overcome through the availability of a QR code enabling the audience to read them if required.


But it was Sydney-based mezzo Ashlyn Tymms who captured the room especially when Fanny’s low-key presence in the first act grows to increasing prominence in the second. Tymm’s delivered two strong arias at the top of the second act and then seemed to go from strength to strength leaving us in no doubt whatsoever that Fanny Price was unquestionably good, honest and true.

As such, it certainly affords NZ Opera opportunity to connect with new audiences in new ways and perhaps in new locations.

Categories
Reviews, News and Commentary

An immersive Tales of an Urban Indian experience

Reviewed by Malcolm Calder

Nolan Moberly (Simon) in Tales of an Urban Indian

Tales of an Urban Indian

An immersive TIFT experience

By Darrell Dennis

Director Herbie Barnes

With Nolan Moberly (Simon) and Dean Deffett (Stage Manager)

Jan 11 to 14 2024

The Bus Stop, Corbans Estate Art Centre

Review by Malcolm Calder

11 January 2024

I went for a 90 minute ride today.  With others.  On an AT bus.  In and around some of Auckland’s western suburbs.  And an actor called Nolan Moberley told us a story. 

I’m glad I did.  Because it left me drained.  Exhausted.  And not a lot of theatre does that to me.

Moberley gave us bus passengers a character named Simon Douglas, an indigenous Canadian born on an Indian reservation in British Columbia perhaps 50 years ago.  He is a product of the Canadian Indian Residential School system. Tales of an Urban Indian focusses on his struggles with self, on family and heritage and on the world in which he lives during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, moving into an ever-increasingly urban lifestyle. 

His issues are shared by a cohort that is international.  But the context of each is unique.

This story is moving and painful at times.  It tells of segregation, alienation and rejection.  It tells of aspiration and maybe even – hope.  As Simon says, “it’s a story I need to tell, not because it’s extraordinary, but because it’s common. Too common, and it’s not told enough. It’s a story about my people …”.

In this country we have some awareness of our own socio-historical context and, to some extent, we like to think we comprehend something of the Australian terrain too.  Or perhaps we only think we do. 

For some reason however, Canada is not imprinted on our national consciousness in the same way.  Hardly at all in fact.  And that is what made this performance so strikingly different for me.  The issues may not be dissimilar.  But the context certainly is.

Nolan Moberley gives a bravura performance, somehow keeping his footing as our big blue bus as it lurched over traffic humps and narrow turnarounds.  I’m not sure if the itinerary was random or carefully programmed but there was something deliciously ironic as we passed smashed up deserted and graffitied houses that somehow echoed the words of the script.  Or how Simon’s vain attempts to get work in films, fancying himself to be James Bond, came just as we passed some of the giant sound stages that encircle this part of Auckland.

Accolades to our driver who found his way into and through some impossibly teensy streets and to stage manager Dean Deffett who revealed stage management skills delivered by sign-language.

After 90 minutes I was starting to wonder how director Herbie Barnes would round it all off – or get Simon off the bus, to coin a phrase.  He did.  But no spoiler alerts from me.  You will just have to take your own ride to discover how.  It is fitting, apt.

First Nations theatre has developed an ever-increasing international voice over the last few decades and Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT) is to be congratulated for sharing thus Canadian story with other parts of the world, for finding commonality there and for such a breathtakingly exhaustive bus ride.