Reviews:
2010
               
          

Antigone

The Elixir of Love

An Ideal Husband

The Merry Widow

Romeo and Juliet

The Silver Rose

The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco

Vis-a-Vis: Moving Stories

Where the Heart Is

www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine
Earlier reviews

The Merry Widow  
Opera Queensland (Conservatorium Theatre)

A nostalgic journey for rusted-on light opera fans while offering much to attract younger theatre-goers, Opera Queensland's new production of The Merry Widow is an evening full of charm.

Anna Sweeny's direction succeeds in commununicating the dazzling world of the late Austro-Hungarian empire, or at least the aristocratic part of it, while emphasising eternal human themes. The various naughty wives and their admirers entertain us with their indiscretions. At the same time, in what is basically a light comedy, there are some genuinely touching moments in the interplay between Antoinette Halloran's merry widow (die lustige Witwe!) and Jason Barry-Smith's Count Danilo as they strive to understand each other's feelings as well as their own.

Antoinette Halloran and Jason Barry-Smith make an ideal pairing as the lovelorn couple, well balanced in their performances overall, and sumptuously attired.

While some performers are fairly wooden in the first act, things liven up considerably as the show warms up. Geoffrey Harris as the baron develops his comedic talents, while Bradley Daley's confidence as Camille really blossoms. Sarah Crane as Valencienne is quite dazzling throughout.

The operetta features a whole bevy of smaller principal roles, many of them filled with familiar members of the Opera Queensland company. They work well together, especially in their singing, although in the extended passages of dialogue some perform less well as straight actors. However the ensemble singing involving chorus and the large number of principals produces a very robust and well-harmonised sound.

One Opera Queensland singer who is an acting natural is talented tenor Virgilio Marino in the non-singing role of embassy secretary Njegus. He can radiate a wealth of meaning with a single raised eyebrow.

Ballroom and dance routines are carried off well, with the highlight the gentlemen's can-can. Barry-Smith impresses with his controlled singing after the vigorous carry-on.

Simone Romaniuk's design is fitting for this production, especially as it is to tour, with uncluttered but visually appealing sets and vibrant costumes, especially the Pontevedrian ethnic attire. Donn Byrnes' lighting adds to the effect, including minor pyrotechnics at the garden party.

The Queensland Orchestra under Kellie Dickerson produces Lehar's dreamy melodies as if they'd been doing it all their lives, bringing out many dimensions of the music that can only be appreciated in a live performance. Indeed, for those of a "certain age" it's great to hear Lehar's luscious waltz music evoking grand balls in Vienna and Budapest in those last days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Much of it was well known to the general public through to the post World War II years (for example, getting a regular airing on Russ Tyson's mainstream ABC breakfast program), but I fear it has disappeared from the canon of mainstream Australia — even "Vilja" and "Chez Maxime".

The Merry Widow includes a theme of how a cultural group in exile strives to maintain its identity and to protect its future (tilting not so much at Paris as at Vienna). A splendid part of the show is the communal singing of a Slavonic dance song at the ducal birthday knees-up in the lead-up to "Vilja". Such music was no doubt deep in the soul of Lehar, was born in what is now Slovakia and whose music for this operetta incorporates folk melodies and musical styles from all over eastern regions of Europe.

For some interesting commentary on this point, see Raymond Knapp's chapter on Viennese opera in his recent book The American Musical and the Performance of Personal Identity.

The Merry Widow plays at the Conservatorium Theatre, Southbank, until 31st July then tours in Queensland throughout August for a series of one-night shows: Gold Coast (8th August), Toowoomba (10th), Maryborough (12th), Gladstone (14th), Rockhampton (17th), Mackay (19th) and Townsville (21st).
— John Henningham

(Performance seen: 10th July 2010)
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An Ideal Husband  
New Farm Nash Theatre

Director Nigel Munro-Wallis says it is Oscar Wilde's capacity to remain perennially relevant that make his work attractive.

An Ideal Husband involves the attempt by the wicked Mrs Cheveley (June Balfour) to blackmail the well-established bureaucrat (and ideal husband) Sir Robert Chiltern (John Ashton) in return for political favour.

Sadly, this topic is still as pertinent and caustic now as it was when Wilde wrote it more than a hundred years ago.

While the cunning wickedness is instantly recognisable, simple antique furniture on the mainly black stage reminds us that we are in another time.

And in a similar vein, the cast are clad in refreshingly simple black clothes adorned with vivid scarves, folding fans, aprons and socks to set them apart.

The sight of flamboyant slacker, Arthur Goring's (Peter Crees) shocking-pink socks is momentarily distracting but Wilde's wit soon grasps the fleeting minds. The audience laughs at all the right places.

Wilde ensured the dialogue was sharper than a sashimi-chef's blade and the plot had more twists than a barrister's wig.

An Ideal Husband reminds the young that Hollywood is not the sacred ground that conceived the comedy of never-ending disasters.

For those not familiar with the play, the Munro-Wallis makes it worthwhile to resist the temptation to read it before seeing it.

It is healthy to suffer with angst as Chiltern's situation becomes more and more tortuous.

While the theatre is modest and the set relatively simple, the performers have enough passion and conviction to take the audience away to another place.

And that's why theatre exists.

Sure, there were some small gaffes, but even Homer Simpson could count, on one hand, the number of times that the cast fumbled their lines.

Those purists should take a page from Arthur Goring's book, who shocked Lady Chiltern when he was uncharacteristically serious. “You must excuse me, Lady Chiltern. It won't occur again, if I can help it.”


An Ideal Husband plays at the New Farm Nash Theatre through to July 31.

— David Stuart

(Performance seen: 10th July 2010)
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www.STAGEDIARY.com: Queensland's Online Stage Magazine
Where the Heart Is  
Expressions Dance Company (Playhouse Theatre)



This production is a searing exposition of what it means to explore one’s home “where the heart is”.

Universal in its meaning, it is also exquisitely local in its Brisbane-based experience. The Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh observed that all great art is parochial; so it is with this journey into the emotions of childhood and young adulthood.

This is Natalie Weir’s first full-length work as artistic director of Expressions Dance Company. It builds significantly on her pilot work performed in August 2009 at the Judith Wright Centre.

Weir’s work draws on David Malouf’s celebrated Brisbane-based novel 12 Edmonstone Street. Weir captures in dance the mystery articulated by Malouf: “Except that memory, in leading us back, has turned us about. Memory is deeper than we are and has longer views.”

The audience goes on a journey with a young man (danced passionately by Richard Causer) as he re-visits his childhood home and relives challenging conflict with his father (Ryan Males) and the tender joys of interaction with his sweetheart (Samantha Mitchell).

Central to the emotional richness of the drama is his mother (Riannon McLean). In a commanding performance she holds together the storm and tempest of this fraught family. McLean demonstrates not only virtuosity in dance but also deep warmth and strength in her roles as wife and mother in moments when it seems that “the centre cannot hold”.

Just as Malouf’s novel Johnno has come to be a Brisbane literary classic, so this work will become a classic of modern Brisbane dance.

The music of John Rodgers is performed live by Mark Hannaford (piano), Erkkie Veltheim (strings) and Pearly Black (vocals). There is an earthiness and an immediacy to their music.

Weir has a knack of expressing in dance the ideas and emotions of literature, just as she did in her earlier work Glass Heart based on Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

This conversation between the world of letters and the world of dance can only be good for the arts in Brisbane.

Choreography by Natalie Weir
Music by John Rodgers
Design by Bruce McKinven
Lighting Design by Matt Scott
Text – Excerpts from 12 Edmonstone Street by David Malouf
Duration: 70 minutes (no interval)
Playing from Friday 28 May 2010 to Saturday 5 June 2010

— Matt Foley

(Performance seen: 3rd June 2010)
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The Elixir of Love  
Opera Queensland (Lyric Theatre)

You've heard of date movies — this is a good "date opera". It's a frothy, entertaining piece about love unrequited but of course eventually requited, with lots of laughs on top of great musical performance. A work never staged before in Brisbane, this is a real charmer and a great start to Opera Queensland's 2010 season.

Director Simon Phillips' original production for Opera Australia (rehearsed for OQ by Christopher Dawes) is set on a pre-World War I outback farm, with lots of bucolic references and C.J. Denis-era Australianisms. The rural idyll is interrupted by the arrival of the cavalry, in the shape of the Australian Light Horse.

Elixir of Love tells of love-sick farm labourer Nemorino's desperate attempt to win the affections of the lovely Adina against the rivalry of cavalry officer Belcore. Nemorino invests a fortune in a love potion peddled to him by the conniving Dr Dulcamara — and surprisingly, it seems to do the trick.

Michael Scott-Mitchell's comic sets evoke an Aussie bush landscape, themed to an apparent outback fascination with corrugated iron — the hills, the sky, and even the horses and sheep appear to be constructed of this essential material. Galahs populate the telegraph wires, ducks are on the wing, a windmill sits on the hill, while sheep baa and cows moo from the sidelines.

Gabriela Tylesova's costume design gives us check-shirted farm labourers and beautifully-garbed straw-hatted and plaited maidens who might have stepped off the set of Oklahoma, together with the bold cavaliers in full rig complete with emu plumes. Nick Schlieper's lighting creates evocative moods for the shifts from sunny outdoors to twilight and shearing shed wedding scenes.

Natalie Jones, a comely Adina, sings with great sweetness and charm, while as Nemorino, Virgilio Marino's lovely light tenor voice is perfect in intonation, although outgunned by the two baritone voices. He does a lovely job with the show's big hit, "Una furtiva lagrima", an aria which Donizetti no doubt never imagined being sung from inside a chook house!

Jose Carbo sings and acts with military precision and strength as Belcore, while Andrew Collis is at his resonant and comic best as Dr Dulcamara. As village girl Giannetta, Emily Burke also sings and performs well, together with the large and lusty chorus, ably prepared by Narelle French.

The orchestra under Graham Abbott's direction gives an assured and full-bodied sound, if sometimes struggling to dampen their enthusiasm beneath some soloists.

There are some great ensemble performances, with my favourite duet that between Collis and Jones towards the end of the second act — superbly acted and sung by both, with lots of tricky embellishments.

The whole opera is rich in comic moments, such as the arrival from the distance of the cavalry and of the quack doctor's old van, each appearing to loom larger as they come up and down the background hills. And there's Virgilio Marino's demonstration of sheep shearing — and while he's no Jackie Howe, it is certain that Jackie never had to shear corrugated iron sheep! And there's Natalie Jones arduously wire brushing her metallic horse.

In another hilariously original touch, Marino's character dashes downstage to lean up and read the production's surtitles so that he can make out what Andrew Collis is actually singing about — with Collis making incomprehensible (but still very musical) noises while greedily and perhaps even dangerously devouring a banana.

In addition, actors Paul Geoghegan as the driver and Jim Coady as the notary give wonderfully quirky character performances.

Brian FitzGerald's surtitles provoke many a chuckle — "she's a real corker!" is Nemorino's first impression of the lovely "sheila" Adina — and indeed it would have been nice to have heard the piece sung in Aussie English rather than the original Italian.


— John Henningham

(Performance seen: 15th May 2010)
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Antigone  
Nash Theatre

New Farm Nash Theatre's production of Sophocles' great classic comes close to setting a high standard, but doesn't quite reach it. The production's main shortcoming is that it does not inspire any gut feelings in the audience in response to the bravery, arrogance and fear of the characters.

In her first scene, Antigone (Jessica Radvan) discusses with her sister Ismane (Carolyn Wagner) whether or not to defy the king's ban on burying the body of her brother Polyneices, killed in rebellion against Thebes. Antigone faces a horrible dilemma: If she obeys her king, her brother's ghost will not be admitted to the afterlife. From the very beginning she knows her will is to defy the order, risking harsh punishment. Yet the scene seemed to be more about reciting lines on a page rather than forcing the audience to feel Antigone's fierce will, Ismane's fear of death, or Antigone's contempt for Ismane's fear.

Radvan improved during the night's performance. By the time of her speech grieving that she would die unmarried, and regretting the curse that falls upon her as Oedipus' child, she seemed to feel comfortable with her words and feel them as something her character would say.

Creon (Damian Danaher) brings more meaning to his words. Creon was played in an unusual way. Rather than a physically imposing warrior, he is played as though he is a sensualist. If you take the character of King Herod from the movie of Jesus Christ Superstar, and remove the campy over-the-top parts of the performance to leave just the core of that character, you have Danaher's Creon.

Even Creon, however, didn't seem to be either angry or menacing enough to be convincing when he found his orders to not bury Polyneices' body had been defied. Creon threatens to kill the guard (Josh Tregenza) who brings him the news of Polyneices' burial unless the guard finds out who performed the burial. Tregenza's comic asides in this scene worked well, but his fear and Creon's anger stayed on the stage rather than reaching into the audience members' hearts and forcing them to react emotionally.

Sets and costumes are stark and simple. In front of a backdrop of the famous mask of Agamemnon flanked by two Greek soldiers, Creon's plain throne sits on a raised platform at the back of the stage. Two columns stand forward of the throne, and two more are on the floor at the very edge of the stage. Costumes are plain white tunics except for the addition of a plain purple robe for Creon and Eurydice (Wagner), and a red robe for Teiresias (Tregenza), the prophet who warns Creon not to ban the burial of Polyneices' body.

Chorus members also have painted white faces with triangular black markings over their eyes. The chorus, each whom play more than one part, switch roles by wearing masks in their secondary roles, and this has a genuinely eerie effect when a messenger (Melissa Russo) informs Eurydice of the death of her son Haemon (Nick Piper), Antigones' fiance, who kills himself in grief at Antigone's own death. The one other eerie aspect of the play is the original music by Sam Grey.

One interesting aspect of the play to look for is the constantly-expressed fear of women. Many times Creon declares that he will not be defied or ruled by a woman, and at one stage the idea of the anarchy that will overtake Thebes if Creon allows defiance of is orders to stand is called "she". While this can be seen as expressing the sexist attitudes of ancient Greece, it's interesting that the attitudes had to be constantly re-stated. If Creon in particular felt secure in his position, he wouldn't have to keep talking about the danger of a female disobeying him.

Antigone is a hugely ambitious play for an amateur theatre group to attempt, especially when the actors have to learn the pseudo-Shakesperean language of Storr's 1912 translation. Director Jeff Zayer hasn't quite led the actors to success in evoking the emotions of the audience, possibly a sign of the limited time any amateur group has to rehearse and get the feel of their characters. Despite this, the dilemmas posed by Sophocles are clearly shown: should we obey the State, the gods or our own wills? Who shall rule? And Sophocles' words at a time when humans were beginning to reach out with their own power still ring out from New Farm Nash Theatre's stage:

Many wonders there be, but the most wondrous is man.

Antigone runs at New Farm Nash Theatre until 29th May.

— David Jackmanson

(Performance seen: 8th May 2010)
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Vis-a-Vis: Moving Stories  
Queensland Ballet and Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble(QPAC Playhouse)


How does a story become a dance? Queensland Ballet artistic director, Francois Klaus gives us an insight through this singular study into the world of the choreographer.

Klaus takes four classic stories and demonstrates how they are converted into ballet. The evening starts with Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream followed by the tragedy Othello. After interval the audience is treated to the amusing antics of Peer Gynt and the three Cowherds or Trolls followed by excerpts from Tennessee Williams' challenging piece A Streetcar named Desire.

There is nothing like a good fight between the gods to get the action moving. The goddess, Titania (Liz Verbraak) is at odds with the god Oberon (Rob Pensalfini). These actors from the locally based Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble immerse us into the merry chaos of divine conflict ushered in by Oberon's line, "ill met by moonlight, proud Titania". They dispute over Oberon's desire to have "a little changeling boy to be my henchman". This conflict is then portrayed in dance by the gifted Clare Morehen (Titania) and Christian Tatchev (Oberon) ably assisted by Yu Hui (Puck) and brilliantly clad fairies (the Corp de Ballet).

This simple but original device of following drama with ballet is most revealing. It is a credit to the Queensland Ballet and artistic director Klaus. It helps the audience understand the way dance tells a story. Drama gives the detail but dance gives the music and the emotional force.

The great poet Ezra Pound observed that "music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance....poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music". The truth of this proposition is revealed when the audience has the benefit of seeing drama and ballet cheek by jowl.

Two scenes from Othello illustrate the compulsive power of deceit and jealousy. Iago manipulates Othello by sowing the seeds of doubt about the virtue of Othello's wife, Desdemona, and offers the famously deceptive advice:
"Oh! Beware, my lord of jealousy;
It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on."

This scene is ably performed by the actors Colin Smith (Iago) and the versatile Rob Pensalfini (Othello). Then follows the dreadful scene when Othello strangles Desdemona (played emphathetically by Liz Verbraak).

The elemental power of music and dance is driven home by a stunning performance by Rachael Walsh (Desdemona) and newcomer Alexander Koszarycz (Othello). This fatal pas de deux is set poignantly to the music of Samuel Barber, Agnus Dei: Adagio for Strings performed a cappella. This searingly sad, grand music accompanies Desdemona's tragic demise. Rachael Walsh (Desdemona) is not only a great dancer but also a great actor. Her death at the hands of a crazed Othello is a triumph of innocence and beauty over the "green-ey'd monster".

After interval a little light relief comes in the form of the three trolls leading Peer Gynt astray. This is followed by the melancholy encounter of Peer Gynt with his long lost beloved Solveig who has become blind. This story illustrates the difficulties facing the choreographer. As Blanch (Rachael Walsh) is starting to lose her mind she recalls events of the past when out dancing in the casino. The spectacular red satin of the costumes designed by Noeline Hall exude sensuality.

This collaboration between the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble and the Queensland Ballet brings out the best of both companies. The innovative format draws the audience into the creative process in a way which helps both drama and ballet come to life. This event has been designed for only one performance. This is a shame for it will be of great interest to all who love theatre and dance. The theatregoer will learn the importance of movement, timing and bodily grace. The ballet lover will grow in understanding of the dramatic purpose behind each leap or gesture. There is a freshness and originality about this dialogue between the two art forms. One hopes that this will not be the only occasion when this scintillating synthesis is performed.


Choreography by Francois Klaus
Music by John Metcalf, Henry Purcell, Samuel Barber, Edvard Grieg and Astor Piazzolla
Costume Design by Noelene Hill
Lighting Designed by David Walters
Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes (including interval)


— Matt Foley

(Performance seen: 21st April 2010)
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Romeo and Juliet  
Queensland Ballet (QPAC Playhouse)

These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die like fire and powder which as they kiss consume.

Shakespeare’s classic words are recounted in the visceral language of dance in a vibrant, passionate performance of Romeo & Juliet.

Queensland Ballet’s principal dancer, Rachael Walsh, is again brilliant in the role of Juliet, just as she was in the 2006 production. Her emotional range is wondrous. She expresses the giggly delight of the young girl in the opening scenes yet commands a womanly authority as love and death clash in the closing scenes.

A strong chemistry is apparent in the pas de deux of Walsh and Christian Tatchev, who dances strongly in the role of Romeo. His sword fight with the fiery Tybalt (Kelan Langdon) is convincing and tragic. He is prompted to take up the sword following Tybalt’s slaying of Romeo’s dear friend Mercutio but this results in his killing Tybalt, the cousin of Juliet whom he has just secretly married. Star-crossed lovers indeed!

The Queensland Ballet has a strong tradition with this piece. Who can forget the outstanding performance of Michelle Giammichele as Juliet in the 1995 production of Romeo & Juliet with the music of Tchaikovsky?

Prokofiev’s music in this ballet includes the haunting menace of the “Dance of the Knights” performed at the grand ball of the Capulets. The dark, martial power of this piece sets the scene for the bloodshed that is to follow.

The Corps de Ballet dance with accomplishment. This company has real depth. They play out the tensions that divide the ancient town of Verona between the House of Capulet (Juliet’s family) and the House of Montague (Romeo’s family). At one point the two camps are pelting fruit at each other in an affray.

The story of Romeo and Juliet is well suited to the physicality of dance. The youth and fitness of the dancers bring the bloody swordplay to life and express the obsessive power of love. The action is enlivened by the spirited dance of the Gypsies (Iona Marques and Kathleen Doody) whose charm and vivacity bring colour to the drama.

This ballet tells a story of great sadness yet great beauty. When in the final scene Juliet (Rachael Walsh) takes her own life after seeing her young husband dead beside her, one is reminded of the perils of love and the dangers of youth, “for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo”.


Choreography by Francois Klaus

Music by Sergei Prokofiev

Set Design by Graham Maclean

Costume Design by Noelene Hill

Lighting Designed by David Walters

Playing from 10 to 24 April 2010

Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes (including interval)

— Matt Foley

(Performance seen: 10th April 2010)
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The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco  
Brisbane Arts Theatre

When the most normal scene in a play is a bunch of stoned housemates breaking into a house to steal back their own possessions, you know it's not going to be a run-of-the-mill offering.

Sequel to He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco is also originally a book by John Birmingham, and both have been adapted for the stage by Simon Bedak.

Natalie Bochenski, who directed Felafel in 2009, has returned for the sequel, a production as rip-snorting, psychedelic and chaotic as the original.

The plot, such as it is, revolves around a group of housemates in a typically grungy sharehouse in suburban Brisbane. It is the only house left in a block marked for development, and the developers, a couple of megalomaniacal fetishists, have concocted a suitably villainous plan to evict the unwitting tenants, whereby they employ a gay narcissist to rob the house so the housemates will default on their rent.

Of course, the plot doesn't really matter other than as a vehicle to cram as many jokes about sex, drugs and abject living conditions as possible into two hours. The result is a free-wheeling, often surreal romp that brings to mind an episode of The Young Ones cranked up to eleven.

The characters run the gamut of Generation X stereotypes, with the dazzling constellation of hippies, slackers, bogans, militant lesbians and anarchists grounded somewhat by the main character, JB, who acts as a sort of constantly stoned observer to the weirdness surrounding him.

But one of the great charms of The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco is that despite its schizophrenic nature, its heart lies firmly in Brisbane. The script makes extensive references to south-east Queensland landmarks and institutions, as well as making fun of our southern neighbours.

In addition, Bedak has updated the 1997 book for the new millennium, and the play references cultural touchstones as fresh as the Apple iPad and Beyoncé's Single Ladies.

Whether this works or not in a setting which is so quintessentially nineties and with characters who are so clearly 20-something Generation Xers is debatable, but it does provide some accessibility for younger audiences who might well be lost with more out-of-date references.

At times it is an incredibly ambitious production, with its large cast, frenetic music and lighting cues, and fantastically varied costuming, including sailor suits, bear costumes, and a fine selection of op-shop glam.

Nevertheless, most of the time the centre holds due to the cast's enthusiasm and the sheer energy of the production, and despite its shortfalls in the plot department, The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco is so chock full of gags, familiar references and ribald humour that it is utterly impossible to dislike.


(Playing until 9th May.)


— Anthony Gough

(Performance seen: 8th April 2010)
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The Silver Rose  
Australian Ballet (Lyric Theatre< QPAC)


Lavish, sensual, evocative! If you like Lady Gaga music video clips you'll love The Silver Rose by the Australian Ballet choreographed by Graeme Murphy.

Famous actress the Marschallin (Lucinda Dunn) is having a fling with young Octavian (Ty King-Wall). Their love-making is interrupted by the arrival of her impresario Baron Ochs (Andrew Killian) with his over-the-top camp entourage and bringing a silver rose intended for his fiancee Sophie. Octavian hides by dressing up as a maid. Baron Ochs takes a shine to the young man dressed as a woman and chases her/him around the stage and through the bed. Thus begins this gender-bending, saucy bit of nonsense.

Lucinda Dunn is magnificent. She dances with the grace and presence of the superstar she is. The curtain opens with her twirling backwards through time with young men writhing about her holding mirrors to prevent escape. Is this choreographer Graeme Murphy holding the mirror up to nature? Or just a theatrical flourish? Hard to tell at times.

Amidst the froth and bubble there are moments of transcendental beauty. In an early pas de deux between the Marschallin (Lucinda Dunn) and Octavian (Ty King-Wall) the delicates tones of flute and cello melt even the hardest heart. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra in full complement play out of their skins, led by concertmaster Warwick Adeney and conductor Nicolette Fraillon. Carl Vine's music, to borrow a phrase from artistic director David McAllister, reminds us that it is not only Tchaikovsky who can compose great ballet scores. If you are one of those sad, visually challenged folk who find ballet dull come along, close your eyes and be transported by the music. Who knows? You may even open your heart and your eyes!

Octavian is given the tricky job of presenting the silver rose to Sophie (Juliet Burnett) on behalf of her betrothed Baron Ochs. The proposed union is much encouraged by Sophie's father Faninal (Damien Welsh) but Sophie has eyes not for the boring Baron but for the muscular messenger Octavian (now sought after by three different characters). Well, I shan't spell it all out but if you can't make a comic farce from this you're not really trying.

Damien Welsh dances masterfully as the grey-haired father, a guest appearance following his retirement as Principal Artist last November. A touch of irony struck your reviewer upon recalling a quarter century ago Damien's father Garth Welsh dancing brilliantly with the Australian Ballet. Tempus fugit!

Brisbane is hosting the first Australian performances of this work commissioned by the Bavarian State Ballet and premiered 10 December 2005 at the Munich National Theatre. To add to the pressure of opening night and an Australian premiere two young dancers Juliet Burnett (Sophie) and Ty King-Wall (Octavian) were given the opportunity of principal roles. Their debut was triumphant. The depth of this company is breathtaking.

The corps de ballet dance beautifully in prodigious number with sumptuous costumes amidst splendid sets. This production is not an exercise in the subtly understated.

In true Lady Gaga mode the paparazzi feature heavily. Journalist (Gina Brescianini) and photographer (Rudy Hawkes) give us the intrusive, scheming, scandal-creating fourth estate we love to hate. Costume and set designer Roger Kirk observes, "I saw a guy walking along the street in King's Cross in Sydney in all black leather and thought,'a version of that would be great for the photographer!'".

It's not all black and white. In the final Act (plot spoiler!) the Marschallin (Lucinda Dunn) realises she has lost her beloved Octavian to the arms of Sophie and lets the young lovers go with her blessing in a morally generous, restoring pas de trois. A cello gently lets slip the fading demons of unrequited love. It is a moment of which only a great artist such as Lucinda Dunn would be capable.


Choreography by Graeme Murphy

Music by Carl Vine

Set and costume design by Roger Kirk

Lighting designer: Damien Cooper

Playing from 26 February to 3 March 2010

Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes (including interval)



— Matt Foley

(Performance seen: 26th February 2010)
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Earlier reviews