After seeing the marvellous Trouble in Tahiti - the second half of my evening at Opera North on 13 October being Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Trial By Jury' (at 8.30) was always going to be a risk, as I've never really been taken with works by this pairing. Unfortunately it's not a risk that really paid off.
However, there were many many merits to this performance. Firstly, Opera North excels itself again due to the entire cast being made up of chorus members - and there really was some incredible talent on display. Most notably, Jeremy Peaker as the Learned Judge and Nicholas Watts as the Defendant shone as examples of brilliant musical, dramatic and comedic talent. Unfortunately, Amy Freston as the Plaintiff was somewhat lost among the other singers - which is strange seeing as her character is, in many senses, the 'main attraction'.
It's difficult, from hereon, not to review the opera as a piece itself rather than Opera North's interpretation. Quite frankly, Gilbert and Sullivan's music simply annoys me. It never feels original or in the slightest bit witty, and while there were some funny moments in the libretto, most of the humour came from John Savournin, the director in the form of visual gags or nice little additions. A joke in which the punchline is repeated again and again is never funny, so listening to a moderately funny line be repeated by all cast members about 100 times at the end of each verse really starts to irritate. Of course, I can't blame Opera North for what the composers have done, especially as this is just a subjective opinion. I can, however, question their choice of inclusion of this opera in the season of otherwise tonally varied yet somehow much more coherent short operas.
Unfortunately, the set design fails to live up the the ingenuity of my previous two experiences. Moving set pieces were a clever idea, but the coherence was not there - with framing scenery not fitting with the aesthetic of the rest of the season so far and simply looking a little lacklustre...
Credit, though, must go to Oliver Rundell and the orchestra of Opera North as well as the singers themselves for performing very well - and especially Rundell for maintaining an impressive synergy between singers and players, something not easy at the best of times, especially in such a frantic musical style.
I cannot, however, ever forgive an opera that has an ending such as Trial By Jury - after sitting through a very... trying... 30-odd minutes, everything was wrapped up within about six seconds in a conclusion that was not in any way funny, but so utterly pointless that it became insulting and made me yearn for those precious minutes back.
Overall, Opera North did an admirable job at making an almost unbearable piece somewhat entertaining with some great intentions, ideas and talent.
★★★☆☆
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