|
|
Image Entertainment DVD Cover |
This recording/video is the latest in a series of performances
from the Australian Opera.
The production, directed by John Cox, is based on Cox's
well-known English National Opera staging, which with
minor modifications was taped as part of the
Brent Walker series.
In fact, one hears on-stage cymbal clashes in exactly
the same places.
The production exceeds the sum of its parts. One has heard
all the individual roles sung better elsewhere, but the
performance, recorded live, has the electricity many other
recordings lack. The only interpretation that fails is
Christine Douglas's over-sung Patience, which is neither blithe
nor gay, and is often out of tune. Dennis Olsen's Bunthorne
reminds one of John Reed in patches, and some may even find
it preferable. Anthony Warlow's Grosvenor is delightful.
The four aesthetic ladies (Jane, Angela, Saphir, Ella) all
sing well, but visually they are not sufficiently differentiated.
The actresses playing Jane and Angela could easily have changed
places, and it wouldn't have made much difference. Heather Begg
plays the double bass in her Act II opening number, which is a
nice touch.
These are chiefly opera singers, and in places they fail to
capitalize on all of Gilbert's humor. However, the musical
performance is first-class, with conductor David Stanhope finding
more nuances in the score than I ever knew were there. As of
now, this is probably the Patience video of choice.
Correspondent Robert Morrison was similarly fulsome in his praise:
This production of Patience, directed by John Cox, was first presented by the
Australian Opera in 1980, and, as noted, reproduced Cox's earlier staging of the opera
for the E.N.O. The chief reason for this was probably the opportunity it gave to
showcase Australian John Napier's scenic and costume designs, in addition to it
being an effective and witty production in its own right.
I first saw Patience in 1980 during its May season at Melbourne's historic
Princess Theatre, (where a number of the G & S operas, including Utopia
Limited, were given their Australian premiéres by
J. C. Williamson between
1887 and 1906.) At the performance I attended, the audience was so taken with
Heather Begg's superlative performance of "Silvered is the raven hair" (in which
she actually played her own 'cello accompaniment rather than merely miming it),
that she was vigourously cheered and applauded until eventually prevailed upon,
(after conferring with the conductor), to perform an encore — surely one
of the rare occasions when this particular song has ever been encored!
Another happy memory of the 1980 season was the sight of Dennis Olsen jumping into
Heather Begg's arms to be carried off stage after the final, (of three), encores of
"So go to him and say to him" — a bit of business cut from the 1995 revival,
but then, alas, none of us are as young as we were 20 years ago!
Anthony Warlow, who made his début as Grosvenor in the 1995 revival, originally
began his career as a singer in the ranks of the Australian Opera in 1980 but has
since gone on to become one of Australia's leading Musical theatre performers,
playing roles as diverse as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, Enjolras in
Les Misérables, the title role of The Phantom of the Opera,
Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.
He also recorded the dual title roles in the studio album of the musical
Jekyll and Hyde.
Dan Kravetz wrote:
The Australian Opera production of
PATIENCE, taped in live performance at the Sydney
Opera House, is a complete production
of the opera, sticking faithfully to the original
words and music, with an authentic 1880's aesthetic
look. It is well sung and acted, and the Lady Jane
actually plays the introduction to her aria on a
double bass. The main drawback is that many in the
cast appear too old for their roles—only Grosvenor is
convincingly as young as his character is supposed to
be. Otherwise, we have to put up with a Colonel,
Major, Duke, Angela, Saphir and Ella who could easily
be the parents of the dragoon guards and maidens
created by Gilbert. They all know how to bring out the
humor in their portrayals, but they carry with them an
added subtext about the silliness of not acting one's
age that should only apply to Lady Jane (and maybe
Bunthorne). I know many G&S groups that use performers
in the 40-plus range effectively, but it doesn't work
in a professional production of an opera that is about
the vanities and follies of the (relatively) young and
privileged. Even so, this is a fine representation of
Patience on video —he Brent Walker
series also did well by this opera, thanks to an English National
Opera Production that also inspired the Australian
Opera in many ways.
|
