Overwhelmed with the grief of losing her baby, Eurydice (played by Mary Bevan) foolishly takes Pluto (played by Alex Otterburn), the King of the Underworld, for her lover, resulting in her being tricked to her death and imprisoned in the Underworld. Orpheus (played by Ed Lyon), encouraged by the comical character of Public Opinion (played by Lucia Lucas), must venture into the Underworld in order to return Eurydice back to Earth.
From the beginning, I was captivated by the fast-paced story telling of the wedding and falling apart of Eurydice and Orpheus’s marriage. When this then blossomed into arias which were beautifully sung by Mary Bevan, I was moved by the incredible power of her voice, which not only conveyed the immense grief felt by Eurydice, but also the longing for her husband when she is trapped in the Underworld later in the play. Bevan always maintained in full control, as she glided effortlessly across even the extremely high notes. I was particularly impressed by Otterburn and Lyon’s excellent comic timing (playing Pluto and Orpheus respectively). Otterburn showed off some of Pluto’s hilarious dance moves, thus portraying the God’s childish playfulness, all the while singing with a thick, rich voice like honey. One would already be amazed by such a gorgeous voice like Lyon’s, but Lyon further impressed the audience by switching between playing his violin and singing at a moment’s notice. However, my favourite character was Public Opinion, because he was incredibly funny voicing the thoughts of the audience on stage as the events unfolded in front of everyone; Lucas’s deep, smooth voice was a delight to listen to.
Although each individual actor performed wonderfully, my favourite moments were when the whole cast came together to perform ensemble numbers. As the audience were transported to Olympus (or Heaven, where the Gods live), massive white balloons were flown in from the ceiling and numerous actors wearing tutus made out of similar balloons came onto stage to perform an amusing ballet number. The mischievous melodies played by the orchestra complimented the ballet movements perfectly to further create a cheerful, jocose atmosphere. Of course, one could not forget about the infamous Can-Can dance! The entire stage lit up with all the gods wearing glittery outfits, erupting into the frantic dance with a tremendous level of energy, set against the backdrop of the Underworld speakeasy. There was a real buzzing atmosphere, and everyone wanted to get up and dance with the characters on stage.
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Another aspect that I particularly enjoyed was the clever set design. Firstly, whenever Public Opinion entered, he would drive onto stage in a black taxi which, although seemingly random, always caused a burst of laughter from the audience. Secondly, Mount Olympus was represented as a glamourous, white-tiled 1950s Beverly Hills swimming pool, which spun around after the second act to reveal the dark, sleazy Underworld set in a 1950s London peep show. In my opinion, the stark contrast helped to emphasise the message that the director was trying to convey, because the idea of viewing women as commodities was directly related with Hell.
The most important message that the director wanted to emphasise was the fact that it is wrong to see women as playthings for men to enjoy; this was portrayed in the opera with Jupiter and Pluto fighting over who got to keep Eurydice for their own pleasure. Having begun adapting the script during the #MeToo movement, Rice felt it important to highlight the issues with sexual abuse of power. Although I agree with Rice wholly, I do not feel she completely succeeded in her goal, because I felt that Eurydice was still portrayed too much as a damsel-in-distress, who leapt at the chance for male consolation. It felt almost too easy for Jupiter and Pluto to seduce Eurydice – I mean, how could Eurydice possibly be seduced by a fly?!
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Having never been to the opera before, I was half-expecting to fall asleep from boredom, however, was pleasantly surprised by the brilliant comedic timing, high energy and, of course, superb singing and orchestral music presented in this majestic piece of theatre. I would highly recommend this opera to anyone over the age of 12 (due to some exploration of seduction and lust), who enjoys a clever combination of comedy and music.