Hastings. The 1950s. Permanent sunshine and also a bit like Cannes during festival season. The setting for this year’s Opera South East production at the White Rock. And on a night when the 2020s Hastings delivered only wind, rain and lowering skies, it was just as well as that the joy and panache of the whole staging of Donizetti’s oft-performed L’elisir d’amore (here performed in English with updates to include Hastings itself) matched the glamour of its revised setting. This was great fun. Beautifully performed and delivered. If this is how Hastings could be, I want to be there often.
This was the first production since Marcio da Silva took over from Ken Roberts as Musical Director of Opera South East. That’s one Hastings stalwart handing over to another. Eleanor Strutt returned to direct having led Carmen last year. So the orchestra performance and the staging were assured. I did note some excellent multitasking from Marcio as some parts required keyboard accompaniment which he carried out whilst also conducting. The staging the music was supporting was simple but vibrant – allowing more for the audience to create their own sun-kissed summer memories but, especially through costume and blocking, keeping the emotions and story vivid. It was also smart enough that even when filled with both children and chorus the stage was full but not cluttered.
Helen May took the role of Adina, the object of desire of the befuddled Nemorino (John Twitchen). Alone and together their voices and movements were beautifully realised – and they were supported by an excellent cast of Richard Woodall as the dodgy tonic selling Dr Dulcamara, Oshri Segev as the horny soldier Belcore, and the scene-stealing Eleanor Westbrook as Adina’s friend and confidante Gianetta. Alongside, and around which, there was the ever-strong Opera South East chorus and, this time, a lovely gaggle of well coordinated children to give movement to thoughts and feelings in the first half.
Obviously, obviously, the story makes very little objective sense but it has some wonderful arias and set pieces so obviously, obviously, you do not care. But it is one that requires a reading of the synopsis to follow, especially as, and this is a fault of the layout of the theatre not the performers, words will be squashed by some of the sounds of the musicians. However we got there, we got a joyful ending and a soldier flashing his wares in a tight one piece swimming costume. What more could you ask for?
I don’t know what numbers Opera South East expect so I don’t know whether they will rue the rain that probably kept a few more away but they should be very proud of the long and genuine applause that rang out at the end. It’s too bad that a two-night run doesn’t really generate enough word of mouth to boost that show’s audience. But maybe, just maybe, if all of us who were there make a song and dance about how good this was then next year there will be more to join in that cheering.
Photos are by another Hastings stalwart, Peter Mould. Link to his page here.
Jon's Place 