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Review: Patience rewarded in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

REVIEW What: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Where: Royal Theatre When: Final performances tonight, April 22, 24 Rating: Four stars (out of five) A 1960 masterwork by one of England’s greatest composers, Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has no
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The fairies gather in Pacific Opera Victoria’s production of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

REVIEW

What: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Where: Royal Theatre

When: Final performances tonight, April 22, 24

Rating: Four stars (out of five)

 

A 1960 masterwork by one of England’s greatest composers, Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has no shortage of passionate devotees.

I suspect few members of this fan club, if any, will be disappointed by Pacific Opera Victoria’s attractive new production at the Royal Theatre. The singing achieves a solid standard, with David Trudgen as Oberon particularly impressive with his lovely countertenor. On Thursday night the Victoria Symphony, conducted by Timothy Vernon, met the challenge of a tricky score in which Britten seems determined to give each and every instrument a showcase.

This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed with verve by Tom Diamond, is a traditional one. Some sequences are astonishingly beautiful. Among the lingering images: the fairy-land boys’ choir, clasping glowing orbs, capering mysteriously; Tytania (ably sung by soprano Suzanne Rigden) striding about in a glittering black-cape/blue-silver gown ensemble that recalls Cruella de Vil; Bonnie Beecher’s magical snow/star projections on the giant gauzy drapes that dominate the set.

It’s a long opera. With two intermissions, the audiences arrives at A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 8 p.m. and departs almost 31Ú2 hours later. Does the production lag? At times it does. This was particularly evident during Act II, when the misunderstandings and bickerings among the four lovers seemed never-ending. On this evening, at the beginning of Act III, a dozen seats in my area (perhaps formerly inhabited by Puccini lovers) were vacated.

While regularly performed, especially in the U.K. and Europe, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not one of the Opera Top 10. Although it’s acknowledged as a modern classic, some conservative opera-goers might find Britten’s melodies too angular, too far removed from the familiar bel canto that goes down as sweetly as the house chardonnay.

Yet the rewards are definitely there. The music hugs the lyrics (lifted directly from Shakespeare’s play) with astonishing finesse. The meanings of words are often directly reflected in the score. Shifts to drama and humour are literally played out — a brass flourish for a mock lion’s roar, for instance. This is one of the things people adore about Britten … and it is jaw-droppingly clever.

The orchestra boasts two harps, a harpsichord and the uncommon celeste. Britten uses sound like a watercolourist. His orchestration is intricate, delicate and layered. Highly original and sometimes cinematic, the music sometimes catches one by welcome surprise. One of Tytania’s entrances is heralded by an unforgettable string crescendo that’s strange, beautiful and thrilling. When the opera opens, Britten announces his intentions audaciously with bold fretboard swoops and sighs.

No one sang better than Trudgen as the antlered Oberon. For such a supernatural being, the countertenor’s unearthly timbre is perfectly suited. And Trudgen’s keening voice is attractive and lush.

The juicy role of Bottom, ring-leader of the rustics, is performed by bass Brian Bannatyne-Scott. A veteran vocalist who has sung all over the world, his Bottom — while amusing — seemed rather subdued.

The character of Puck, a potentially scenery-chewing role in Shakespeare’s play, is acted by Daniel Ellis with head-lolling liveliness. At one point, Puck alternates between the Charleston and cartwheels. Yet once again, it’s not overdone.

Perhaps director Diamond intends that no one character will dominate, for fear of disrupting the ensemble nature of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One of his most successful touches is repeatedly having characters enter the audience chamber through the aisles, helping to engage the viewer.

It’s an ambitious project, certainly. There are 20 in the cast, not including the boys’ choir, which performed very well. I’m certain it was well past these youngsters’ bedtime — if you suspect it’s past yours, a pre-opera power nap is advised.

Pacific Opera Victoria distributed flyers about its upcoming season. It is Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Les Feluettes (Lilies). The latter — a new opera by Kevin March based on a play by Michel Marc Bouchard — was co-commissioned by Pacific Opera Victoria and L’Opera de Montreal,

achamberlain@timescolonist.com