BY JAMES WHITING
Shakespeare and Friends
Pacific Opera
Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, 11 March
What’d you miss?
- Music and poetry
- Fairy queens
- Bright, young voices
The intermingled resonances of music and poetry were celebrated as Pacific Opera filled Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room with the semi-staged concert Shakespeare and Friends.
Performed by members and alumni of the company’s Young Artist program, the concert presented a collection of arias, art songs, and musical theatre numbers – all inspired by the poetry and drama of William Shakespeare – plus a few drawn from poetical ‘friends’ such as Goethe and Tennyson.
Music was the food of love and much more as the pieces varied across genre, subject, and tone. Bursts of comedy and light-heartedness nestled seamlessly alongside moments of gravity and reflection. Framing choruses such as the cheekily bombastic Hail Poetry and I Hate Men offered moments to showcase the performers as an ensemble, in addition to their work as individuals.
The program followed an episodic structure as clusters of songs were grouped to evoke particular places and experiences. Spectators were led from the nocturnal enchantments of a fairy-inhabited forest through to a range of pieces meditating on romantic love. Artistic director and accompanist Simon Kenway provided guidance throughout the concert, stepping forward to offer insights about the origin and significance of the pieces performed. This structure allowed for the pleasure of comparing the musical means by which different composers have adapted the same Shakespearean source material. For instance, the audience heard Katherine, the eponymous shrew of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, soften into love; first in a German opera aria by Hermann Goetz and then in a song from Kiss Me Kate, the American musical comedy by Cole Porter.
Within each episode, the individual songs were linked by smooth gestures, groupings, and pairings from director Jenny Laing-Peach. One moment, a singer would be giving a solo performance; they next they became focal points for the vocal outpourings of another. Fairy queens appeared surrounded by attendants, lovers crossed paths, and friends stood by in firm, silent support. As they sang and moved throughout the intimate performance space, the singers created the atmosphere of an Elizabethan or Jacobean court masque. With well-tuned throats wrapped in ruffs, jewels crowning some ladies, and the gentlemen crisp in sable-coloured suits, the performers seemed elegant courtiers indulging in passions and playfulness.
Ultimately, the concert was a delightful vehicle for the bright, young voices and talents of these emerging artists. As the performance concluded, Kenway jokingly prompted the spectators to choose their favourite singer. They were certainly spoilt for choice. I can think of no better praise than to follow another of the performance’s prompts, that of Cole Porter’s emphatic refrain to Brush up your Shakespeare. In that spirit, let me say that these young artists are together, ‘precious winners all’.
Image supplied. Credit: John Kilkeary.
