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The Singapore Lyric Theatre |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) A Midsummer Night's Dream An opera in 3 acts after William Shakespeare
MAIN CAST
Lawrence Zazzo Oberon, King of the Fairies Nancy Yuen Tytania, Queen of the Fairies Marc Toh Puck Joanna Campion Hermia Peter Wedd Lysander Giselle Allen Helena Ong Wei Kiat Demetrius Roger Bryson Bottom, a weaver/Pyramus Russell Ablewhite Flute, a bellows-mender/Thisbe David Marsh Quince, a carpenter/Prologue Gerard O'Connor Snug, a joiner/Lion James Nelson Snout, a tinker/Wall David O'Keeffe Starveling, a tailor/Moonshine William Lim Theseus, Duke of Athens Chen Hsing-An Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
The Singapore Lyric Theatre Orchestra |
by Chia Han-Leon
(Title page from A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1600.)
Despite some disturbing thoughts I had on Puck's Rambo costume, as seen on the show's rather crude television advertisements, the stage setting is remarkable for being one of the best examples of a simple set beautifully and effectively evoked by imaginative use of lighting (heartiest congratulations to Lito Borromeo). The stage itself was dominated by a concave round platform, which in Puck's famous exclamation "I'll put a girdle round about the earth/ In forty minutes" was put to good use (Marc Toh's bursts of running being a frequent occurence). As this "flat earth" created a second stage on top of the normal stage, it provided a small border area in front on both sides where the couples lay down to sleep, effectively separated from the main action in the centre, yet still present.
The air above the stage was inhabited by translucent plastic(?) pipes hanging vertically from above, acting as tree trunks, which rose and descended at various points throughout the play. With the mesmerizingly magical lighting, these created a wonderous effect of floating trees, adding immensely to the scenes of fairy magic. Swiss cheese-like walls of shrubery moved up and down with these, alternating as bushes to cover strategic areas or tree canopies that atmospherically filtered shafts of light onto the stage. Coloured spotlights weaved and shone about the characters, not only shifting the spectators' focus but changing the aura over the stage from the "real" world of the lovers to the magical realm of the fairies in an instant. The final double-shaft of sunlight that pierced through the stage's space into the audience at the moment of Puck's final exit and the opera's end was truly wonderous - signalling the arrival of dawn and yet preserving the magical atmosphere of the fairies' farewell chorus, reverberating through the air.
In contrast to this is the violent wrath with which he flings Puck onto the stage in punishment for mucking up Lysander's mind. And I mean bodily throw the fellow, in addition to kicking and pulling his hair. As they stood among the trees in the background watching the quartet of lovers quarrel, audiences might have noticed the deadly looks Oberon shot at the unrepentant Puck, snickering with glee at his mischief. If Oberon had seen me, I might have been in trouble too! My highest compliments also to Zazzo's wonderfully natural "save" of the flower after having accidently dropped it on stage.
The humans have been cast as Britons of the mid-20th century era: Lysander and Demetrius in suits, with their ladies in summer and sheath dresses and later, dresses of the formal, high-society ball variety. As a quartet, as pairs and as individuals, the roles were performed with great naturalness and skill. Lysander (Peter Wedd) and Hermia's (Joanna Campion) first scene, where they have escaped into the forest, is marked by a mood of happiness and freedom, with their duet "I swear to thee" passionately and sincerely sung. Demetrius (Ong Wei Kiat), with his commanding baritone, is on the other hand well and truly irritated with Helena's pestering love. Giselle Allen's Helena is made into a victimized comic character, constantly stumbling onto stage half-dizzy with the weariness of unrequited love, much to the audience's amusement, and on reflection, pity. Whereas Campion's Hermia is a slim, pretty and instantly likeable girl with a girlishly attractive voice, Helena is rather plump and dishevelled, a disparity which some were disturbed by, but I think also offers character variety, including within an operatic context.
William Shakspeare's vibrant comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream is the first play of the playwright that I read purely for fun. Benjamin Britten's ingenius 1960 setting of an abridged, slightly rearranged, version of the play is the first full-length opera that entered my collection of recordings, and I must confess, the only opera that I have listened to more than a few times. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to learn that the Singapore Lyric Theatre was going to stage it.
As this is the first live staging of this play, let alone as an opera, I have ever seen (embarrassing is it not, for a Literature student?), I was completely unprepared for the spellbinding magic of the fairy sequences or the side-splitting comedy of the mechanicals' antics. The simple truth is that students of Shakespeare too often over-study the plays as a text and not as live drama, a play. Similarly, listening to a recording or reading a score of a piece of music is nothing compared to actually performing it or attending a performance. Whereas "serious" academic study often focuses on "serious" themes and characters, perhaps what really won the audiences' hearts tonight was the hilarious staging of Pyramus and Thisbe. In fact, the mechanicals practically stole the show!
The cast was by and large a superbly characterful and skilful group. As a big fan of countertenor music, I was doubly thrilled by the event that is the first ever countertenor to sing on an operatic stage in Singapore. Lawrence Zazzo's Oberon, looking like a rugged Brad Pitt in a black leather outfit, was stern and commanding yet full of that air of meditative thoughtfulness. His movements on stage are graceful and almost floating, adding tremendously to the aura surrounding Oberon. His aria "I know a bank where the wild thyme blows", wonderfully scored by Britten (left) with its harp glissando breezes and the word-painting of "nod-ding ... nod-ding ... nod-ding" is one of the many points where this dark King of the Fairies displays a very human and soft side of character. At one point before exiting the stage, Oberon is wrapped in darkness, only a silhouette showing. He looks almost tenderly and wistfully up into the trees, one hand stroking his chin, before walking nobly off the stage. A searching moment of timeless thought, caught between darkness and light.
The performance was not merely distinguished for its belly-aching humour but also for its moments of sympathy and of course, love. Nancy Yuen (right) as Tytania (as spelt in Britten's textual source) was strong of voice and presence. Her words and songs of love for Bottom were heartwarmingly sincere and beautiful, and I must confess I almost shed a tear for her. Even her shriek of shock at the now-loathsome visage of Bottom elicited a laugh of approval from the audience. Unfortunately, Tytania's most joyfully winsome aria "Be kind and courteous to this gentleman", a part I was looking forward to, was marred by poor coordination between orchestra and singer (I was told it was okay on Thursday). From afar, she looked oddly like local actress Koh Chieng Mun with too-thick eyebrows. But nevermind, hers was a role well-played and relished, beautifully sung.
If for some odd but soul-searching reason you wish to skip Page 2 and go on to Page 3, please click here. In the event that you become confused because you skipped Page 2, just remember to scroll to the bottom of Page 3 and click Page 2. Thank you! You can also click here to read about Britten's own recording of the opera.
Click here to read Page 2 of this three-page review.
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Readers' Comments
From: kami (kk_arteaga / Thursday, May 13, 1999 at 01:38:50)
i thought you wouls like to know that in the play, Titania is spelt T-I-T-A-N-I-A. And also that Helen is supposed to be Helena. Helen is a myth that is stated in the play" Pyramus and Thisbe." [Hello! In Benjamin Britten's edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania was in fact spelt "Tytania" - hence that was the version used in his opera. Thanks for pointing out the missing "a" in Helen though. - Ed.]