4 M B S C L A S S I C P L A Y E R S
Directed by
Tama Matheson
Q U E E N S L A N D S Y M P H O N Y O R C H E S T R A
Conducted by
Johannes Fritzsch
Gala 2 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
William Shakespeare
Felix Mendelssohn
QPAC Concert Hall
SOUTH BANK
28 May 2011
A packed house and a standing ovation from many at the second performance of the day proved that the Queensland Orchestra’s experiment of mixing art forms is a huge success.
With A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the mix was actors, musicians, and singers and they melded beautifully into a unique combination of sounds that created an evening of fun and fantasy.
The orchestra was on form with conductor Johannes Fritzsch leading the musicians through Mendelssohn’s beautiful music. It was fascinating to see how well the story and the words blended so well; Mendelssohn obviously had a great understanding of Shakespeare, for his musical interpretations of plot are spot on.
The overture was familiar and proved to be an excellent introduction to the live action and underscored the spoken word at times like a film soundtrack. As well as the overture we heard the entire score of the incidental music he wrote for a performance of the play in Prussia in 1843.
The song You Spotted Snakes, written to be sung by Titania’s two fairy attendants, sung on the night by soprano Natalie Peluso and mezzo Hayley Sugars who were backed by the huge UQ Choir, directed by Graeme Morton.
I enjoyed seeing the autumn forest foliage mix of colors in the choir’s costumes, with red, oranges, and greens mingling together. It suited the atmosphere much better than regulation uniform and created a colourful backdrop to all the action.
The audience loved every minute of the music and the acting.
The orchestra too, including the conductor, seemed to enjoy themselves as they joined in the fun, pushing backwards and forwards as Oberon and Titania, on opposite sides of the stage, threw spells at each other in a very Harry Potter-like way.
The play, of course, is one of Shakespeare’s most popular, with fairies joining mortals in a tale of love and jealousy, spells that go wrong as the mischievous Puck plays his little games.
A band of players from the radio 4MBS Classic Arts Productions delivered a lively and often hilarious interpretation of the play with Luisa Prosser as the imperious Fairy Queen Titania and Hippolyta, the betrothed of Theseus. The mighty magician Oberon, was played by Tana Matheson who also directed the production which would not have been an easy jo, as the actors had to work on the Concert Hall stage around the orchestra.
Where the ballet dancers in the last gala performed in front of the orchestra, this time the actors worked at the back and the sides as well as the front. But I found it worked well and gave the actors plenty of room to create characters and action.
Dash Kruck was a very cheeky Puck and won a heap of laughs with his antics as he bedevilled poor Lysander and Egeus and confused his master Oberon. The mechanicals were well played too and the audience laughed loudly at their performances as they clowned their way through the action.
Bottom was played by Nick Backstrom and it was an impressive performance too.
I also enjoyed the modern femininity of Rebecca Ritters and Anna Mowry as the love stricken Hermia and Helena. They introduced a real freshness to the bard and threw on a lot of hilarious slapstick as well, both as the lovers and as Peachblossom and Cobweb the feisty fairies.
Of course, the most well known music in the piece is the Wedding March and, when it is played at the end, Theseus and Hippolyta come onto the stage, The Prince wore a red military jacket and the bride a white gown. The resemblance to the recent royal wedding did not go unnoticed by the audience – especially when the prince kissed his bride - twice!
This tongue in cheek piece of action gave a happy finish to a joyous evening.
I can’t wait to see the next Queensland Orchestra Gala.
Eric Scott
