| A fun take on Bartered Bride |
At Mid Wales Opera |
| Mid Wales Opera- The Bartered Bride , Riverfront Newport , November 14, 2006 |
Transposing an opera through either time or space - or frequently both - can be a tricky business. Sometimes it works brilliantly, other times it just falls flat.So it was a tinse of trepidation I waited for the start of Mid Wales Opera's take on the tale, set not in folksy Eastern Europe but in a mining community in Wales in the 1930s. The host of colourful characters living in a terraced street is of course immediately redolent of Under Milk Wood but this new translation by Amanda Holden, commissioned by Mid Wales Opera, and Stephen Medcalf's direction quickly shakes off such literary baggage. Our characters names are made Welsh and English so Marenka becomes Myfanwy, Krusina becomes Lloyd-Morgan, Vasek becomes Victor and Jenik becomes Joseph and so on. Rather than being an expression of nascent Czech nationalism under the yoke of imperial Austria-Hungarian domination, revelling in traditional folk tunes and dances, our tale is a Wales that celebrates eisteddfodau as an expression of identity in a sea of English cultural domination. It is a wealthy English farmer Toby Mitchell, who has been pledged the hand of Myfanwy to a Mitchell son. One son, Joseph, by a deceased first wife has left home and disappeared because of his treatment by his stepmother. Victor, son by that second wife, is a stuttering, shy boy and his mother's darling. Unknown to anyone, Joseph has been living in the mining community and is in love with Myfanwy. The plot revolves around how everyone, including Myfanwy, is tricked by Joseph and the outcome is that she does indeed marry a Mitchell son - only not the one Toby Mitchell and his wife had intended. I have seen this opera performed several times in Britain in lavish large-scale productions and once in Prague where it was first performed in 1865 and I have to say that dramatically this is the most I have enjoyed the opera. The characterisation was sharp and performances extremely polished, the translation witty and contemporary and the comedy, well, funny. The use of the rugby team indulging in a few laddish pranks and drinking games in the pub worked well while the use of a visiting Wild West show was inspired - particularly, of course, as Wild Bill Hickock did indeed bring a cowboy show to Wales in 1903. To add to the humour our Cowboys and Indians turn out to be more from the Wild West Midlands when they intentionally let their show-time accents drop. Nicky Shaw's set worked perfectly. A screen depicting a row of terrace houses that slid open to reveal each house's inhabitants and which could be pulled back to reveal the inside of the Lloyd-Morgan home or the pub. The Eisteddfod was cleverly created simply with a striped tent while behind it all was the gorgeous rolling Welsh countryside. This was the first role I have seen Camilla Roberts since competing for Wales in the 2005 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and she was delightful both vocally and dramatically as the bartered bride. Her impressive and powerful voice was beautifully controlled both through the strident and the self-doubting moments the character moves through. Michael Bracegirdle made for a richly voiced Joseph with a wry smile and mischievous demeanour, just perfect for the clever hero whose double-dealing saves the day. Also delightful and engaging was the Victor from Christopher Steele who, while indeed a comic character, had you loving him as well as pitying him until we eventually celebrate his finding his own way despite an overbearing mother. Olivia Ray was a perfectly sexy and lusciously sung Esmeralda who understandably transfixes innocent Victor. Central to the success of this ensemble cast was Simon Wilding as the dastardly Kettle who comes a very satisfying cropper when Joseph outsmarts his legal wheeling and dealing. As a real Dick Dastardly character it was impossible not to smile at Simon Wilding every moment on stage. Add to that some fun circus performances, some hearty chorus numbers and Keith Darlington's handling of Smetana's melody-filled score and this fun take on Bartered Bride worked splendidly. |
Reviewed by: Mike Smith |
This review has been read 1541 times There are 33 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
