Die tote Stadt

Die tote Stadt
By Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Paul Schott. Opera Australia. Director: Bruce Beresford. Conducted by Christian Badea. June 30 – July 18, 2012.

This was a truly extraordinary and ground-breaking production for Opera Australia. Die tote Stadt is an intense and beautiful opera, yet almost one hundred years after its first performance this was the Australian premiere.  The opera was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold in his early twenties. He went on to win two Academy Awards for his film scores.    

Appropriately Bruce Beresford directed a production with cinematic intensity. The first sight was a screen showing a picture of the large orchestra tuning up in a nearby space outside the theatre. Liberated from the much-cursed Opera House pit their picture and music was beamed back in surround sound.

The experiment worked beautifully. Instead of having their music muted by the stage – the audience could swim in the lush score. Some of the most exciting musical moments were when there was no singing at all. It felt like a symphony playing to a movie track.

The use of film was liberally sprinkled into the production. It ranged from beautiful roses to haunting images of faces, which fell down the screen or emerged on the backdrop to give the opera a dream-like quality.

As for the opera itself, the chatter in the foyer beforehand was that perhaps we were in for a grim night. Die tote Stadt is about grief. Since the death of his wife Marie – Paul – has created a shrine for her, complete with a braid of her hair and scarf. Then appears on the scene a woman with a remarkable resemblance to her.

We were pleasantly surprised by the music that had echoes of Puccini, if no show stopping aria.

The leading tenor role of Paul (Stefan Vinke) and soprano role - Marie/Mariette (Cheryl Barker) are fiendishly difficult to perform. For Vinke it felt like the elastic was stretched to capacity.  While on the edge in some songs which were in clouds, he ultimately slayed the musical dragon. Cheryl Barker sounded more at ease in her duel role and sang beautifully.

But ultimately the orchestra was the star of night. Normally they are cocooned in the pit… but newly liberated they could walk on stage for a new experience…. taking a bow for a well-deserved ovation.

David Spicer.

Images: Top - Cheryl Barker as Marie or Mariette and performing artists of Opera Australia. and Lower - Cheryl Barker as Marie or Mariette and Jose Carbo as Fritz.  Photographer: Lisa Tomasetti

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