Don’t be deterred if you can’t find a child to take along with you. First seen at the Young Vic three years ago, this lively revival caters for all ages. There was barely a squeak from the youngsters in the audience (the six year old boy sitting next to me sat rapt right through the two hours plus of John Fulljames’ cheeky, engaging production) and the adults seemed equally engrossed.
Inspired by a Romanian folktale, this story of a princess (Flora, the youngest of three) who is forced to marry a bristling, smelly boar is packed full of witty lyrics (courtesy of Alasdair Middleton), strong voices and all-too-true observations about love and human nature. As much musical as opera (and drawing on the talents of performers from both genres) there’s more than a hint of Sondheim in Jonathan Dove’s score, a clever mix of the sophisticated and the hummable which works brilliantly.
Simon Wilding makes a fine, operatic Pig as he covers himself in mud and he’s matched by Karina Lucas‘s determined Flora, trudging the world in cloddy shoes of iron and a grubby wedding dress as she tries to break the evil spell which binds him.
The North Wind (Jo Servi) and his missus (Beverley Klein in curlers) deliver a delightfully clever duet about the joys – or otherwise – of a very long marriage. And Klein also impresses as both a malign mother and as the strict Book of Fate which seals Flora’s future in this Beauty and the Beast style story with a porcine twist.
Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden WC2E 9DD ( 020 7304 4000
Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden WC2E 9DD (
No comments:
Post a Comment