Lorelei - Opera Queensland
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Sat 06 Mar 2021 - Sat 13 Mar 2021
By arrangement with Victorian Opera, Opera Queensland presents
Lorelei
The conversation in the lift after the show was revealing."
I didn't need to hear all those rude words. They were only there to shock.""
Three women more or less static for most of the show in three rooms.""
I'm a bit of a leftie and I loved where they were coming from.""
Great orchestra, excellent singers, ho-hum libretto""
Thin plot, stretched too far""
Opera as conscientisation"
Your aged reviewer did his homework and read what others had written about the earlier Melbourne performance – same set, same singers. Mostly, they loved it, praising the music, the message and the originality. So what made it different?
Frankly, many operas are of their era, where women are expected to be beautiful and desirable, and often to expire tragically and at length.
Here the three women (who first present as three sirens whose role is to cause the death of sailors (all men) by luring them on to rocks) are dressed in exaggeratedly constricting costumes – clearly depicting exploitative role expectations.
They decide not to sing the devastating song – and discover that the men die anyway. They are being shamed and blamed unjustly. They shed their costumes and sing in their underwear. Exploitative or celebrating their bodies?
One singer tries to leave but finds that escape is impossible, as she is caught in a maze and keeps re-appearing through a myriad of doors, in a sequence which is skilfully done and has the audience roaring with laughter. Three figures (not all men) appear dressed in some kind of uniform and re-dress the women in their constricting costumes. They are still imprisoned in gilded cages.
And at a time when our headlines are about prominent males responding to women's accusations of exploitation, surrounded by a not particularly edifying debate, Opera Queensland's timing is impeccable.
In my opinion, the jury is still out as to whether this particular production (with its excellent singers and orchestra) achieves its worthy objectives.
But clearly, a significant proportion of the first-night audience loved it.
This production contains coarse language and adult themes. Recommended for ages 15 and up.
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!date 06/03/2021 -- 13/03/2021
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140171 - 2023-06-13 16:26:58