They were dressed in boarding school uniforms with backpacks, showing us the contemporary style that did not hurt the original idea, but quite the contrary. The next layer of mixture of Brook’s magical worlds was revealed with the appearance of the four lovers – Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena. However, that just added another contemporary dimension that did not hurt the original motives of both Shakespeare’s play and Britten’s opera. Granted, she did not miss the opportunity to highlight her environmental activism with fairies holding “Nature first” and “Save the fairies” signs. Brook’s main motive behind this staging seemed to be the search for magical elements in the frail world of human beings. The fixed set provided a nice framework for various parts of the opera, successfully shifting the attention from one sequence to another, without losing focus or diving into too many unnecessary details. This initial feeling of danger and dread eventually made for an excellent interplay with joyful songs of the fairies and lovers, with danger lingering everywhere.
That motive was repeated several times during different sequences. Under dim lights, two actors carried a snake with translucent green eyes, clearly depicting a dangerous environment of an ancient wild wood. The overall impression was that of an abandoned ruin abundant with wild trees and flowers. Four smaller lamps were positioned on the upper side of a piano, and two bigger lamps were displayed to the right and to the left of it. She chose to do it through multiple channels, strictly following Britten’s/Pears’ libretto and adding diversified details to boost the original motives of Shakespeare’s play.Īs the curtain rose, we saw a fixed set consisting of big stairs to the right, ancient wood in the center and a rustic piano with a chair to the left, both overgrown with moss. Well-known for staging both Shakespeare’s plays in theater and opera houses, she married her two biggest passions to offer a youthful and playful new insight into the world of fairies, magical spells, unhappy lovers and madness of love. Brook has recently left her manager position at the Théatre National de Nice and fully returned to the theater itself. The Mastery of Staging Shakespeareįamous director Irina Brook was in charge of giving a new and fresh look into Britten’s dreamy masterpiece. Tickets have been selling fast, and despite the fact that the celebrated opera venue offers its own livestream service for a minimal fee, it seemed like the hottest ticket of the early season. Fortunately, that wait was worth it with the Vienna State Opera’s latest rendition a true inspiration.
0 kommentar(er)
