Werther

There are a number of opera companies around Melbourne. The larger ones do more lavish productions, while the smaller ones need to be innovative to compete. This Klanke Knochen Opera certainly do.

Wertheris a strange choice for a small company. Performed in a small suburban hall with a raised platform at one end, the performers were very close to the audience. The opera is not well known and lives and dies by the inhabitant of the title role. In this they had a winner in American tenor Patrick MacDevitt. His ringing tenor never tired, and he inhabited the role of the tortured poet.

Mezzo Allegra Giagu was a dignified Charlotte, developing a strong chemistry with Werther. She has a lovely voice, but sometimes the drama meant her top notes were strained. She had a much cooler relationship with her aloof husband, Finn Gilheavny, who also sang well. April Foster was a cheeky Sophie.

Samuel Thomas-Holland was an impressive father, while Steve Carolane and Josh Erdelyi-Gotz were jovial friends.

The opera started with the performers entering and taking seats at tables around the wall among the audience. They then came on stage from those positions. It was unusual, but very effective. There were two armchairs on the small platform used for indoor scenes, but there was no attempt to describe where the action took place. It didn’t matter.

The important thing was that the performers were very close to the audience. No one dropped character for a second and the audience were fully involved. Conductor James Penn kept a strong hand on proceedings. He’d arranged much of the music for cello and piano, and Grace Gilkerson and Pam Christie did sterling work, though I’m sure that Pam would have preferred a better quality piano.

The only downer was the venue. The acoustics were the worst I’ve encountered for an operatic performance. With no carpet and wooden floor boards, the voices bounced off the walls and were sometimes uncomfortably loud.

But this was a small price to pay for such an excellent production.

Graham Ford