INDEPENDENT OPERA at Sadler's Wells

The Sofa and The Departure

Reviews

Seen and Heard International

Elizabeth Maconchy, The Sofa, The Departure

by Anne Ozorio

’...[Independent Opera is] an adventuresome company, and this time they’ve chosen the operas of Elizabeth Maconchy...’

’...Neither The Sofa (1957) nor The Departure (1961) have dated. Indeed, The Sofa is a so lively that the youthful cast – all under 35 – revel in its quirky modernity. The set is a gorgeous mix of 1950’s kitsch and retro chic – completely in tune with current tastes in post modern irony. The costumes, make-up and hairdos are brilliant – the Grandmother is a nightmare in shocking pink, and the girlfriend has a helmet-like Amy Winehouse black beehive, adding another level of meaning to the plot...’

’...Throughout the work, there are allusions to Bizet, Puccini, to Gilbert and Sullivan and to the drearier aspects of music popular in Maconchy’s time. The references fly fast so fleetingly that you have to be quick to get them, but that's just part of the fun : this is irreverent, irrepressible anarchy, a parody of musical convention as well of the solid bourgeois respectability that the sofa symbolises. It works because the performance captures the turbulent pace so well; the ensemble pieces are particularly well choreographed, and the “Champagne Cantata” is witty indeed...’

’...The Departure is darker. A woman can’t understand why, when her husband enters, that he can’t see her. What she doesn’t realise is that she’s dead. Gradually the two voices meld together melodically. It’s an effective way of using music to make us realise that the pair can only “feel” each other’s presence. With only two performers, there was more emphasis on singing here, but Poole and Vramsmo were convincing and Vramsmo has impressed me several times already...’

’...As it happens, the intelligent use of space and stagecraft is something at which Independent Opera excels...’

’...The programme notes were helpful and well written, well above the average bland cliché so often encountered elsewhere...’

’...One of Alessandro Talevi’s strengths is that he can inspire people; a rare gift and to hear these young singers perform with such enthusiasm is a joy in itself...’

’...This performance was sold out, which is obviously a good thing, but it’s what the company is doing to nurture creative talent that’s really going to pay off in the long term...’