Well, The Green Season has hit with a vengeance. Not only are all of the components of the production, such as costumes, scenery, sets and props being reused or made from recycled or second-hand elements, but this opera is concerned with the fate of the planet and the devastation it is facing. Being opera it is done in an eccentric way, and, often over simplified, even the names of the characters and their particular groupings are obvious descriptions of their roles. Having said that, there is a certain amount of underlying satire.
The music for the opera is a selection of pieces by Henry Purcell (1659-95) and the instruments used span both the original and current period. From my seat in the stalls I couldn’t see the orchestra in the pit but got my usual occasional glimpse of the conductor’s arm and baton in some of the more flamboyant gestures. Tonight, however, I also espied two enormous necks of strange stringed instruments. After the performance I asked someone I thought would know what they were talking about, unlike yours truly, as to the name of these and was told that one was a theorbo and the other an archlute. They are played in the same way as lutes but have extra peg boxes at the top of a greatly extended neck. Fortunately for the player the fret is the same length, the longer strings only used to add a wider range of pitches, otherwise they would need arms the length of a gorilla. In my research I also found them to be eyewateringly expensive, so, in order to get a lot of lute you need a lot of loot.
Andri Björn Róbertsson as Nebulous and Anna Dennis as Elena
The synopsis of the opera is pretty straightforward for once, possibly because there is no complex web of love interests. Nebula and Elena look down on the the earth where the tyrannical ruler Diktat is being born and quickly rises to power, it takes about five minutes actually. Two Sycophants, see what I mean about the names of the characters and factions, Tousel Blond and Ginger Strumpet, honour the new ruler.
Diktat has all dissidents and nonconformists executed until only Nebulous and Scrofulous are left. They are both climate activists who warn Diktat not to ignore the deterioration of the state of the planet. They are thrown into jail for their troubles, Nebulous later being executed.
Andri Björn Róbertsson as Nebulous, Xavier Hetherington as Scrofulous and Matthew Brook as Sceptic with members of the Chorus of Opera North
Diktat, resplendent in a fake Sly Stallone body suit, proves his machismo by going into the forest to kill a wild boar and he is lauded as a hero. The Sceptics, an organisation which Elena signs up to under duress, join in with this to gain access to Diktat. Strumpet and Tousel also switch sides. The Sceptics and the Activists meet and form an alliance, the former group calling for the winds to rise and the earth to shake.
Andri Björn Róbertsson as Wolf with members of the Chorus of Opera North
Diktat is suffering nightmares, one of which involves a wolf and a fox who tell him that the trees are pleading for the cries of nature to be heard. He ignores this and chops down all the trees saying that this climate change talk is fake news.
The tyrant, now really troubled, meets a seer who says that everyone, including kings must meet their destiny, which is shown to him in the form of a play by Seer, Sceptic and Elena, in which King Saul visits a fortune teller and is told he will lose his kingdom.
Crushed by this, Diktat calls on God for mercy. His plea is ignored, his power vanishes and he is destroyed. Elena is revealed as the Queen of the Night, light returns and the earth begins to heal.
Wouldn’t that be nice.
The opera is presented in a series of vignettes, as would have been the norm in Purcell’s day, with many of the cast wearing masques (masks) either real or face painted, with others in modern dress, echoing the music, which, as alluded to previously, was played in a mixture of Baroque and current styles.
Callum Thorpe, as Diktat aka Vladimir Jong Trump.
The role of Diktat was sung by Callum Thorpe, a bass, whose voice perfectly conveyed the menace which he was exuding. He also seems to have shaved his head since the photograph in the programme was taken. This confirmed my suspicion that, along with his bodybuilder prosthetics and hunting proclivities, he was a parody of Vladimir Putin. His desk, however, was cobbled together from boxes and containers, presumably to save waste, rather than being the hilariously long table seen in the Kremlin. Something else which planted a seed of doubt was that he was constantly wearing a suit with a vivid crimson tie, or uniform with medals. At one point he also had anti-tank rockets strapped to his back. I have, therefore, revised my opinion and come to the conclusion that he is a mash-up of leaders who are seen as a threat to the environment; the aforementioned Putin, Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. One thing I have no doubt about is that Samuel, when rudely awakened from his bed in the caravan, which looked suspiciously like the one in Falstaff, but given a make-over, was a dead ringer for Josef Stalin.
Callum Thorpe as Diktat, Matthew Brook as Samuel (Stalin?) and Xavier Hetherington as Seer/Saul
A lot of the singers had multiple roles with Icelandic bass-baritone, Andri Björn Róbertsson, as Nebulous, Activist and Wolf; James Laing, as Tousel Blond and Fox; Xavier Hetherington, Scrofulous, Toady, Seer and Saul; Matthew Brook as Sceptic and Samuel and Anna Dennis as Elena and Witch. Apart from Callum Thorpe, who, despite giving a flawless performance, as did they all, was given the pantomime villain boos at the curtain call, the only singer with a single identity was James Hall who was Strumpet Ginger.
There was as much dancing as singing in this production, Dennis Sayers being the choreographer, which enhanced the story no end. The costumes were by Marie Jeanne Lecca, and covered the gamut from prison garb to ball gown, making you forget that it was a ‘make do and mend’ production. The only thing which stuck rigidly to the ethos of accentuating the recycling element of the production was the set, designed by Leslie Travers. Even the oversized pram in which Diktat was born, was shown to be cobbled together from old doors when turned side-on to the audience. Point made. The lighting was by Ben Pickersgill and Paul Constable, adding to the ever changing atmosphere as the world, and its dissident population declined.
James Laing as Tousel Blond, James Hall as Strumpet Ginger with dancers; Ben Yorke-Griffiths, Rose Ellen Lewis, Jonny Aubrey-Bentley and Ruby Portus.
The thing which lifted this opera to a new dimension, however, was the video effects, designed by David Haneke. They were superb, spectacular and, when needed, the definition of the image distorted to indicate impending doom. The way in which they were projected onto the back of the set was also very original. Greenpeace, NASA and NGF Filmproduction are credited with the provision of the video footage.
Yes, it might have been a bit simplistic and fable-like in its story, but it is an opera not a documentary and, as such, is to be enjoyed for the music, dancing and singing, all of which, as usual, were superb. Any food for thought is a bonus.
The dancers were: Jonny Aubrey-Bentley, Rose Ellen Lewis (Dance Captain), Ruby Portus, Ben Yorke-Griffiths, James Aidan Kay and Erica Mulkern.
The Orchestra of Opera North was conducted by Harry Bicket and the Chorus of Opera North was under Chorus Master, Anthony Kraus.
Masque of Might was Directed by Sir David Pountney and runs at Leeds Grand Theatre on Saturday, 14th and Saturday, 21st, both at 2.00pm and Friday 27th October at 7.oopm. after which it follows the traditional route to Theatre Royal, Newcastle on Saturday, 4th November, Theatre Royal, Nottingham on Thursday, 9th November and The Lowry, Salford on Thursday, 16th November. All performances start at 7.00pm.
For bookings please go to https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/masque-of-might/#book
To see what else is in store from Opera North it is https://www.operanorth.co.uk/
Although this is not what you would call a conventional opera, it might be worth taking advantage of the Try it ON scheme for first timers, just for a good night out. https://www.operanorth.co.uk/your-visit/new-to-opera/tryiton/
Feature image provided by Opera North. All photographs by James Glossop.
Tyke It To The Limit 