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Seen
and Heard Opera Review Kurt
Weil, One Touch Of Venus (music by Kurt Weil to lyrics by Ogden Nash), Opera North, Leeds Grand Theatre, December
8th 2004 (RJF) Normally
in a performance or CD review, I would start by writing about the
composer, then the work concerned, finally commenting on the production
and performance. By the end the reader would generally have got the
gist of my feelings. This review is going to be the exception. I am
going to start with the end, as it were. Put simply, this is THE best
show in town. Go out and get a ticket. Now, whilst they are available.
The remaining performances in this first week in Leeds are fully booked
after which the company takes its Christmas break. It reopens on January
15th with a new production of Don Giovanni followed by a revival of its
admired Thieving Magpie.
Before moving on to it’s usual touring venues there are only two further
performance of Venus in
Leeds. Tykes need to get a move on. Those living near touring venues
have a little more time to get their act together.
Opera
North has a distinguished tradition of presenting musicals and has
had significant success with the likes of Show
Boat and Weil’s Love Life.
In this production by Tim Albery, in imaginative and wholly delightful
sets by Anthony McDonald, superbly lit by Alan Silverman and dressed
by Emma Ryott, they have another winner. What is more, this is the
first fully staged production ever in the U.K. Why never before? I
guess post war austerity, short memories and fashion. Another possible
reason is that the some of the jokes might not have got past the Lord
Chamberlain of post-war puritan Britain.
Of course, the story is impossible. It develops round the delivery
of a statue of a shapely Venus dubiously acquired by the art connoisseur
and collector Whitelaw Savory, sung by the Californian born bass Ron Li-Paz who also
studied at RADA. His sonorous voice is never stretched and he sings
and speaks his role with fluency, clarity and conviction. These admirable,
and many would say essential qualities, are in evidence throughout
the cast that has a nicely judged balance between U.K. born artists
and those with American connections. Karen Coker and Loren Geeting
sing the lovers, ex statue Venus and the barber Rodney Hatch. Both
have light lyric voices and move easily, securely and with good diction
between the spoken dialogue and the sung numbers. Christine Tisdale,
a Broadway singer, is Savory’s feisty p.a. She acts with sparkle and conviction,
as does Jessica Walker as Rodney Hatch’s intended; at least she was
his intended before he met with Venus! Eric Roberts is superb as Taxi
Black and Dr Rook. Although he doesn’t get much to sing he plays a
full part in the superb barbershop quartet number ‘The trouble with
Women’ in scene 7.
It
is possible to say of some performances that they are better than
the sum of their parts. Here the parts are superb and the sum even
better. The music, with its jazz idioms was played as to the manner
born under the baton of James Holmes. The ballets and dance movements
were elegantly choreographed with the chorus and soloists fully co-ordinated
and in synch. The slick pieces of Venus’ magic, and some scene changes,
were assisted by the brief pulsing of several megawatts of bright
lights facing the auditorium with the stage in darkness. Whilst this
was effective and kept the slickness moving, susceptible people might
need to quickly cover their eyes. This
production and the Autumn Cosi fan Tutte has done much to restore my faith in Opera North
after some very quirky efforts with ‘Eight Little Greats’ in the Summer
and their twitching Orfeo
this Autumn. I hope there is enough budget left for Don Giovanni and that its sets, singing and conducting are up to the
standard of this well rehearsed and presented show. I hope those that
follow my advice will enjoy this undeservedly neglected work as much
as the audience and I did. Robert
J Farr One Touch of Venus opened at Leeds Grand Theatre on Wednesday 8 December. Photos © Stephen Vaughan.
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