The Love of the Nightingale: Audience review by Paris Rosemont

Anke Hoppner as Procne

I was completely mesmerised by Opera Australia’s riveting production of The Love of the Nightingale. It was a powerhouse performance combining my love of opera and Greek tragedy respectively, with a smattering of social commentary on the side.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a storyline more suited to opera than this one, which scaled the heights of human emotion, providing a perfect platform for the performers to shine. Emma Matthews and Anke Hoppner were brilliant as the sisters at the centre of this tragedy. The joyful innocence of the sisters in the first half of the opera was in stark contrast to the horror that was to unfold by the end of it. Indeed, it was this innocence – or more precisely, the loss of it - that was so poignant and made the brutality that followed all the more shocking.
 

Richard Anderson as Tereus

Richard Anderson was well cast as Tereus – physically imposing, with a rich, resonant voice. Also effective was the Greek Chorus, prophesising doom. The audience knows what is going happen to poor Philomele and we want to join the Chorus in shouting out their ominous warnings, but we are merely spectators and are thus powerless to stop the inevitable. A special mention must go to young Oliver Brunsdon in the role of Itys. What a sweet-voiced child – the epitome of innocence. He held his ground in the company of some of Australia’s finest opera singers – most notably in his duet with Emma Matthews.
 
The costumes were suitably Greek and clever use of rolling platforms gave the set a nice sense of movement, with lighting used to great effect to mirror the emotions and subject matter portrayed.
 

Emma Matthews as Philomele
 and David Corcoran as
the Captain

Richard Mills has done a remarkable job in taking this classic myth and keeping it fresh and relevant to a contemporary audience. His music traverses the emotions – from whimsical melodic passages full of hope and innocence, to dissonant frenzied choruses foreshadowing violence and brutality of a most graphic nature.
 
The Love of the Nightingale definitely lived up to its promise of being “a very fine contemporary Australian composition of which we should all be very proud”. It was utterly compelling, thought-provoking viewing which kept me absolutely enthralled. Despite the intensity of the horrors witnessed by the audience during the course of the evening, The Love of the Nightingale ended on a hopeful, albeit bittersweet note. In the end, the audience was left with a pervading sense of calm. And questions - oh so many questions...

This review was submitted as part of Opera Australia's Weekly Audience Review Competition. Each week one audience member's online review is selected as a winner, with that person receiving a double pass to an opera of their choice. Click here to see a list of production review pages where you can submit your review for a chance to win.