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Stolen away by the Fairies (...I wish)
Friday, June 21st, 2002 11:28 amI am happy to report that Thomas Randle (or 'Tom', as he now prefers) looks just as good in leather trousers and a long red velvet frock-coat as he did the last time I saw him as Oberon in Purcell's The Fairy Queen at the ENO, five years ago. His voice is better, if anything, and my god the man can dance: it's very cheering to be reminded that opera needn't mean statuesque types in formal clothing standing around and striking poses.
This is Borderland: The Opera: a punk vision of Purcell's expanded incidental music for Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which bears so little resemblance to the original that my friend Beatrice confessed herself utterly at a loss as to the plot.
"Never mind," I said, "this is opera: it's traditional not to have a clue."
"But it's Purcell, so at least it's originally in English," said Maureen. "It hasn't had to be translated."
"And you still won't be able to understand more than one word in ten." Which was unfair of me, really: it's the acoustics to blame.
These fairies are not at all twee: this is more your Seelie & Unseelie Court than anything likely to lounge around in flowers. They're long-haired, dreadlocked, and reminded me very much of the countercultural cast of Gwyneth Jones' wonderful Bold as Love (which is much on my mind right now - see tomorrow's entry, probably). Tom Randle moves with a sort of insectile grace: there's something not quite human about his demeanour, and his innocent - no, amoral - glee at the torments inflicted on the mortals by his court. He's a tempestuous Oberon: Titania remains far more dignified, but Oberon has charisma. He has an open, expressive face that conveys Oberon's playfulness as much as his fury at the Fairy Queen herself, who's clearly more powerful than him.
There's a lot of instrumental music in this opera, so plenty of dancing: the ENO dancers can be pretty spectacular when they're given free reign and a spotlight: I found this much easier to follow, in terms of dance-grammar or whatever it is, than the last ballet I saw. I should also mention the Seventies Disco rendition of a splendid tenor/counter-tenor duet: and the drunken poet lurching along the front row of the stalls and interfering with the conductor: and the smashed harpsichord in which Titania (eventually) takes her rest. And a birthday party organiser who is clearly![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
green_amber. The music is wonderful: the plot is tenuous: there are rats on the walls, and the butlers have little silver angel wings.
It's playing for at least another week.
This is Borderland: The Opera: a punk vision of Purcell's expanded incidental music for Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which bears so little resemblance to the original that my friend Beatrice confessed herself utterly at a loss as to the plot.
"Never mind," I said, "this is opera: it's traditional not to have a clue."
"But it's Purcell, so at least it's originally in English," said Maureen. "It hasn't had to be translated."
"And you still won't be able to understand more than one word in ten." Which was unfair of me, really: it's the acoustics to blame.
These fairies are not at all twee: this is more your Seelie & Unseelie Court than anything likely to lounge around in flowers. They're long-haired, dreadlocked, and reminded me very much of the countercultural cast of Gwyneth Jones' wonderful Bold as Love (which is much on my mind right now - see tomorrow's entry, probably). Tom Randle moves with a sort of insectile grace: there's something not quite human about his demeanour, and his innocent - no, amoral - glee at the torments inflicted on the mortals by his court. He's a tempestuous Oberon: Titania remains far more dignified, but Oberon has charisma. He has an open, expressive face that conveys Oberon's playfulness as much as his fury at the Fairy Queen herself, who's clearly more powerful than him.
There's a lot of instrumental music in this opera, so plenty of dancing: the ENO dancers can be pretty spectacular when they're given free reign and a spotlight: I found this much easier to follow, in terms of dance-grammar or whatever it is, than the last ballet I saw. I should also mention the Seventies Disco rendition of a splendid tenor/counter-tenor duet: and the drunken poet lurching along the front row of the stalls and interfering with the conductor: and the smashed harpsichord in which Titania (eventually) takes her rest. And a birthday party organiser who is clearly
green_amber. The music is wonderful: the plot is tenuous: there are rats on the walls, and the butlers have little silver angel wings.It's playing for at least another week.
