Plagued with technical issues, the performers held strong and made it enjoyable.
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress is not the typical story of a Rake; the plot was unexpectedly about a man, originally with low funds, in love, who learnt more and more about love throughout the opera. Even with all the problems he faced, and the mental state he was in by, the end of the story, Tom Rakewell (the Rake) knew what love was, could recognise it, and could profess it to the woman he had loved throughout the opera. The performances of all the cast were touching, intense, and powerful.
That being said, the performance was filled with technical issues that made it challenging to enjoy in places. The lighting was inconsistent and problematic at times, there were several periods where lead cast members were performing in darkness because the spotlight was in the wrong place. Some of these moments could have been considered intentional, except that it happened so often, particularly prior to the interval, and others absolutely could not have been because the spotlight was partially on them. Another issue was the sound. While it is entirely understandable that the cast were not wearing microphones, operatic performances could make this difficult in practice, it was really difficult to hear them occasionally. The issue that conflated this was that the subtitles on the screens had their own problems. They were sometimes out of time, and while they occasionally followed both participants of a duet this was inconsistent, they also did not follow more than one person when it was three or more vocalists layered even if their parts had different lyrics.
The costume department and set design team deserve high praise. The staging was tilted, partially raised, and reflective. It was beautiful and provided atmospheric reflections during poignant moments. It was a clean and modern feel that fit well with the mixed 18th Century and modern feel that the costumes and props had. The costumes were wonderful, all the main cast had costumes that were excellently designed to provide symbolism for the audience. The crown that Frederick Jones’s Tom Rakewell wears at the beginning is seen in a few other scenes as well, and it is only its later uses that made its entirely out-of-place feel at the beginning make more sense. The ensemble had very intricate costumes, the masks were gorgeous. For one moment there was a murder of crows on stage, heavily suggesting to the audience that something terrible was going to happen. Other lighter moments included the use of a Greggs paper bag as a prop – a smattering of laughter was heard from the audience.
Jack Sheen, the conductor, was magnificent, as were all the musicians. One musician in particular stood out for the entirety of the opera. The pianist. The pianist spent the entire opera on stage, in full costume, with a straight face as though they were part of the scenery. Only turning the page of their sheet music occasionally and playing sometimes. They played brilliantly and added hugely to the moments they were required for. During the auction scene, the pianist had a SALE sign stuck to them. They were clearly committed to their role to be as unobtrusive as possible, and should be highly commended.
Truly there was no weak link in the performers, the musicians or the cast on stage. The vocals were astounding, with special mention to Nazan Fikret, who played Anne. It was unfortunate that there were so many technical issues on the night that took away from the otherwise enthralling performances of the gifted main cast, and talented ensemble.
Just for accuracy it’s a Harpsichordist on stage, not a Pianist.