I was very much looking forward to seeing this rarely performed piece by Bernstein (on 13th October at 7.15pm), and I'm pleased to say that my high expectations were exceeded! This somewhat dark parody of the American Dream as a piece in itself expertly conveys layers of meaning without feeling too heady, and the music is, as one would expect from Bernstein, rather ingenious. Not to mention the beautiful yet effective libretto.
The narrative is framed by a jazz trio, commenting on how life is 'great' in American society, and yet our main characters - almost the stereotype of an American family - show us that life isn't so rosy. 45 minutes isn't long to convey themes of masculinity, femininity, consumerism, egoism, love and self image, and yet here we are treated to all this and more in an incredible depth.
It must be said, in the opening moments, I had my doubts. There were some slight balance issues with the orchestra, and the 'jazzy' solos expected of the orchestra, while not easy at all, were underplayed. However, this was easily forgiven just a few moments later, and it became apparent that the music was in fact being tackled expertly, with some tricky moments tackled with precision. The singers, too, made this tricky music seem easy - and it was a joy to watch. Wallis Giunta was phenomenal as Dinah, singing beautifully and employing just the right mix of over-the-top stereotype and sensitive individual which created genuine empathy. At times, Quirijn de Lang as Sam was a little overshadowed, but on the whole his performance matched Giunta's, showcasing them both as almost perfect for the roles.
Special mention must be made of the direction and set design. Matthew Eberhardt brings an expert's eye to such a multi-layered little opera, brilliantly conveying all subtleties and extremes through the direction of the piece. The set design works hand-in-hand with this, with some brilliantly clever moments involving lighting shifting the audience's perception. The sets follow the same pattern as the Ravel here - using the back or 'backstage' side of the set pieces almost more than the fronts. This feeds into a very clever idea from Opera North, whereby all promotional material and even the operas themselves seem to have a 'backstage' feel somewhere about them - almost as if you're being welcomed into a community putting on six operas, rather than watching the operas themselves. This might seem strange when seeing each opera in the season individually, but holistically it is a stroke of genius.
This, to me, showcases the best of Opera North and is a brilliant example of them doing a rare/unpopular opera extremely well. Bravo to all involved - I highly doubt I'll see something of the same calibre for a while!
★★★★★
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