| Butterfly takes to the road by Sarah Noble | |
| Puccini: Madama Butterfly | |
| Oz Opera is the touring arm of Opera Australia. Every year it visits metropolitan, regional and remote communities throughout Australia, armed with a portable production, a chamber orchestra and a cast of hardy young singers. Principal roles are double cast and sung in rotation - those not taking principal role on a given evening take smaller parts or make up the minimal chorus. In communities where opera is rarely seen, Oz Opera productions are an invaluable opportunity for novitiates and buffs alike to share in the talents of our national company. They can also function as a training ground for rising young artists. This year Oz Opera is presenting Puccini's Madama Butterfly, in a production by John Bell, of Bell Shakespeare fame. Bell's simple and elegant production has updated the action very slightly, moving it from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth, to Nagasaki in the 1940s. Pinkerton wears khaki instead of the usual blue, and, like the tourist that he is, takes incessant photos of Butterfly's attendants. The new setting aids in bringing Butterfly's situation a little closer to our own lives. Abandoned, but still adoring, she does her very best to embody the American Wife she believes herself to be: she dresses like an American girl, and plasters her paper walls with clippings of Superman, the Andrews Sisters and other pop culture icons. Sets and costumes were designed by the late Jennie Tate (to whom this production is dedicated) and realised Julie Lynch. Tate's imaginative colour sense and eye for beauty are everywhere apparent, as is her ingenuity: the single, uncluttered set has been built for easy portability, but there is nothing makeshift about it. Bell's sensitive staging makes excellent use of the limited space; the final scene, Butterfly's suicide, is a particularly striking coup de théâtre. On the evening I attended, Butterfly and Pinkerton were sung by Jane Parkin and David Corcoran, with their alternates (Elisa Wilson and Jason Wasley) forming part of the six person chorus. Parkin was a vivid Cio Cio San, tackling the role's fearsome vocal demands with grace and distinctive tone. Only in its upper register did her voice show signs of misbehaviour, although even this was not a consistent problem; she rose to the climaxes of "Un bel di" and "Tu, tu, piccolo iddio!" with devastating power. Butterfly is too often dismissed as a victimised shrinking violet, but her dialogue (especially in the middle part of the opera) reveals a far more spirited and complex individual. Parkin's bright characterisation did a fine job of exploring these aspects alongside the character's obvious pathos, and even earned a laugh or two in her confrontation with the strutting Yamadori. As her feckless husband, David Corcoran was surprisingly sympathetic - no mean feat in one of opera's easiest-to-hate roles. Though thoughtless without a doubt, he was no brute; both his passing infatuation with Butterfly and his subsequent horror at her fate were brought off with convincing emotion. Singing with extraordinary beauty of tone and impressive musicality, Corcoran proved he is definitely One To Watch: it's no surprise he's been nabbed for Opera Australia's Young Artist programme next year. The remainder of the cast provide mostly strong support. Ian Cousins brings experience and steady voice to Sharpless. Brendon Wickham enjoys the comic mugging of Goro, although his performance is marred by choppy phrasing and wayward pitch. Victoria Lambourn's expressive mezzo makes much of Suzuki, and she's especially touching in the final scene, while Karen van Spall is appealingly dignified as Kate Pinkerton. Eddie Muliamaseali'i makes a spectacular appearance as the Bonze; Rohan Thatcher is suitably peacockish as the rich Yamadori. A touring production of this nature requires a few significant adjustments. With most of the theatres it visits unequipped to provide English surtitles, Oz Opera productions are performed in translation to ensure their intelligibility. While it's a pity to lose the particular piquancy of the Italian text, Peter Hutchinson's translation is faithful, witty and highly singable, and coupled with the sterling diction of the singers, does an excellent job of recreating the spirit of its original. In addition, since touring with a full orchestra would be impossible, Oz Opera's Madama Butterfly is performed by a 12 piece orchestra, in a re-orchestration by Lara Taylor. Such a reduction necessarily robs the score of much of its texture and prismatic sonority, but once the ear has adjusted, it does bring to it a degree of intimacy which is not without its charms. Christopher van Tuinen does an admirable job of leading this small-scale Butterfly, particularly in at its dynamic extremes, where he draws an intensity from the orchestra which belies its size. Oz Opera might sometimes be viewed, by citydwellers especially, as Opera Australia's "country cousin", but the strong creative team and high musical standards of this production are abundant proof that it is nothing of the sort. It's only a pity that, in New South Wales at least, this production couldn't be seen closer to the capital. Those unwilling to trek to Parramatta for Puccini have missed out on a treat. | |
| Text © Sarah Noble |
Friday, August 15, 2008
Butterfly, Oz Opera, Aug 15, 2008
