The original Peter-Hall-production trees were still in use in 2001, I know that much. Which choir(s) made up the fairies, Mary? Having girls is unexpected...


Well, I hope you're not too jealous of me!

The ETO production which toured in 2004 was set in a wood: a rather heavy single set which made some sense for the first two acts (run together in this case) and the first half of Act Three, but fairly odd for Theseus's palace. The production was killed dead in the water by the director's decision to make Puck a changeling who had grown into a middle-aged, shambling, fool: now that might just work in the play, but Britten's music was conceived for an acrobatic youngster: its fleet, whirling trumpet and drum sound make an absolute nonsense of a rather lumpy camp waddler (whose casting, I suspect, had rather more to do with the fact that he was the tour's resident producer. I don't have the programme to hand, but have a feeling that there were girls amongst the fairies, although the kids did very little other than group themselves around the roots of a big tree, and hardly move at all; since there was a new group at nearly every venue, what they did had to be kept as simple as possible. The named fairies were played by members of the ETO chorus, one of them the young counter-tenor who understudied the all-but-inaudible Oberon, and who, IIRC, was scheduled to play the role in Wolverhampton.

I wonder whether Mary's memories of the piece are coloured, as are mine, by the second EOG production with designs by Emmanuele Luzzati? Rather bright cartoon-like units on castors whose fluid sliding and spinning movements were directly related to the orchestral glissandi, it was a mainstay of the company's repertoire in the later 60s and early 70s. Directed by Britten's long-time collaborator Colin Graham, everything in it came out of the music and the text: an absolute model of how to direct opera. Enchanting and entertaining, I saw it several times with slightly different casts, and introduced many friends to opera through these various performances.    

Lucky, lucky you. I'm very jealous. Mustardseed and Peaseblossom were girls in the Opera North production. The vocal score specifies trebles for the solo fairies, trebles or sopranos for the chorus. Trebles can be girls, I suppose. Britten also allows a contralto for Oberon - which I don't like the thought of at all..

 


My vocal score just says "Acrobat", but of course BB intended a boy. The Puck in last night's performance was an adult, looked more Caliban than Puck, but leering. I didn't like him.

I saw it at Leeds--the first night of this production: not sure whether that had an impact or not.  Persuaded my 13-year-old daughter (I'm a slightly ageing father) to come along.  She enjoyed it well enough but said that she couldn't hear the words.  Afraid I have come late to live opera and have nothing to compare it with: I enjoyed the shift from psychedelic night to clear blue (I think) dawn.  At Leeds Puck was a somewhat feline/canine Caliban-like creature which I didn't warm to.  Also the voice appeared to be amplified and perhaps distorted, which I again didn't much like--did that happen at The Lowry, Mary?
It's difficult when you have nothing to compare.  Anyway we received the 2008/9 programme today and my daughter went through it with me and agreed to go to Tosca and Seraglio--so something must have been OK.  Her favourite opera to date is...The Magic Flute.  She doesn't fancy the concert performance of Elektra at the abominable Leeds Town Hall--probably just as well--but I'll be there!

I saw this twice at Leeds, both times at the front, and would have seen it more if possible. The words did not come over but I find that with Britten they are so memorable I'm almost singing along, oddly enough the last time that happened was Nixon in China at ENO. I rather liked the production with Puck as a faithful dog and the fairies as creepy Village of the Damned clones. I had been worried as I had enjoyed the previous ON MND so much but although this was quite different it was still a good experience with that so sexy start on the strings. I wonder whether the set caused problems with the diction as the last production had a wooden curved wall across the stage. Is it correct that singers project more when singing against flats? I thought this was the best of the run followed by Romeo and Juliet with  Macbeth being slightly disappointingly Verdian.

Pardon?  Can't stick Verdi myself, but still find this comment odd.

I remember the "Oberon" scenes as being very delicately scored anyhow, in keeping with his supernatural presence? It's only really the "mechanicals" who are pitted against very meaty from the pit (although the whole opera is a model of economy and elegant understatment in scoring terms).  The issue of the casting of Oberon always seems to spur debate (I suppose because it was a rarity to cast a countertenor in a modern opera, although a masterstroke on Britten's part to do so),  yet my first questions would always be about the quartet of moonstruck lovers,  and especially Lysander.   Was the ETO production with Britten's original orchestration, or one of their "scaled-down for touring purposes" versions?  Whilst one winces to lose the original scoring, doing so it what permits them to get into many of their venues where a full-sized band wouldn't work - although I didn't much like their CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN the Jonathan Dove chamber scoring of Janacek's original was a masterpiece, and ably conducted by Peter Robinson.