A Midsummer Night's Dream
Grand Theatre, Leeds
Published Date:
08 May 2008
By Philip Andrews
Benjamin Britten's setting of Shakespeare's familiar comedy of sex and the supernatural is simple, economical and effective, sticking closely to text and plot while creating a shimmering dreamscape with his unique orchetration.
Martin Duncan's sparkling new production for Opera North follows Britten's lead. A simple set of fluted, translucent hangings is all that's needed to create the magical forest in which love at first sight takes on a sinister meaning and the action is played out beneath an hallucinatory sky of huge, drifting party balloons.
As they do so often, Opera North create a superb ensemble production with a little-known cast, brilliant (literally) costumes, great musicianship in the orchestra pit and a lot of imagination.
As ever in this piece, the show is finally stolen by the Rude Mechanicals, led in their hilarious play-within-an-opera by Henry Waddington's Bottom, though the children's band of fairies, which includes some members of Derbyshire's Kinder Children's Choir, run them close as the audience's favourites.
The full article contains 168 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
08 May 2008 10:29 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
SHEFFIELD, SOUTH YORKSHIRE
