Taking It Up the Octave: Antoinette Halloran
Can the worlds of opera and cabaret comfortably co-exist and intermingle? Antoinette Halloran and her instrumental accompanist Patrick Lawrence have attempted to prove that they can, but their undeniable talents and efforts have yielded mixed success here.
The nudge-nudge title of this show is a good indicator of its aspirations to cheeky humour, but whether the shifts in style and mood across the hour-long run-time really add up to a satisfying experience is debatable. There’s certainly nothing wrong, in theory, with wanting to run the gamut and provide an audience with a true variety performance, nor with using pronounced contrast and deliberate incongruity, but it is only in isolated moments during TIUTO when the ideal balance is struck.
Halloran is such an appealing and charismatic onstage presence, so clearly at-ease with the spotlight and impressive in her chosen field, that it feels like far too much of a stretch to accept her portrayal of a luckless, desperate, love-starved individual, hooked on Fifty Shades of Grey (whose text gets a climactic – in every sense - setting to classical opera).
The most gratifying highlights of TIUTO include an always-welcome (for this reviewer) aria from Bizet’s Carmen (which becomes surprisingly funny when turned into vulgar burlesque) – while the smartest idea of all comes with the simple-but-genius twist of flowing Joni Mitchell together with Stephen Sondheim; it’s pure magic.
The fact that opera heroines have historically been assigned dismal fictional fates by their authors is a melancholy point that Antoinette Halloran makes most resonantly – and usefully - toward the end of her show. This reviewer is grateful for the existence of Taking It Up the Octave, mostly for making him a fan of its showcase star, and he keenly awaits the opportunity to witness such a fine performer being given the chance to shine in the kind of complex, multi-dimensional operatic role that she clearly deserves.
Anthony Vawser
Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.