Reviews

Anna Leese Shines

14/10/2009

The Genesis Energy Season of Eugene Onegin, Sept/Oct 2009

PUBLICATION: Capital Times
REVIEWED BY: Kate McLean
DATE: 14 October 2009
WHERE: St James Theatre, Wellington

 

One of the most performed operas ever, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin should transport its audience into the often heart wrenching ecstasy and despair of first love.  From the lilting strains of the opening offstage duet to the immense anguish of the final scene, this production cleverly and sensitively delivers exquisite intimacy within a whirl of social action.

A fantastic opera for singers, Onegin provides each of its cast (including the chorus) at least one, if not many moments to shine and this group of singers does it serious justice. As the emotional centerpiece of what proves to be a brilliant cast, Anna Leese's spine tingling voice and honest portrayal leave a strong impression. It is difficult to separate out the rest of the cast simply because of consistently exciting voices and committed performances, this writer only wishing for slightly more youthful buoyancy from Olga (Kristen Darragh) in order to truly offset a more serious Tatyana.

The single disappointment was the Vector Wellington Orchestra. In large parts they sounded like they were sight-reading and one can only hope there is significant improvement before Tuesday night, as at times it was terribly distracting. Such wonderful music does not deserve to be marred by such inaccuracies in timing and tuning.

Full credit must go to the creative team, whose combination of what is relatively simple set and costuming with thoughtful lighting and delightful choreography easily conjures up visions of the Russian countryside and a palatial interior in busy St Petersburg.

Whilst the production itself is an absolute winner, Anna Leese is without doubt, the star of the night. With her heartfelt portrayal of a young woman whose excruciating fate is essentially to love the wrong man, Anna Leese is proving herself as one of the great female voices to emerge from New Zealand.

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Did you know?

Early opera resembled the atmosphere of a race course - chatting, food, laughter and loud comments were the norm.

During all our opera performances an English translation of the libretto is projected on screens above the stage, so you can easily follow the story.

If you are 25 years old or under you can purchase $25 tickets at the venue box office before any performance.

The world's longest opera is Wagner's The Ring Cycle, lasting over 14 hours plus intervals. That's 18 hours at the theatre.

The world's longest applause lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes as a standing ovation. The opera: Otello starring Placido Domingo.

On average, an opera will last between 2 and 3 hours, with one interval in a two act show, and two in a three act show. Operettas and musicals tend to be shorter.

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