Opera North Theatre Review: Trouble in Tahiti/West Side Story Symphonic Dances*

Raise the curtains as we’re back at the Opera! Opera North has returned, with a full live calendar, to The Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays, and across other venues in the North. So, if you want your opera fix, most recently taking the stage is Carmen which has been on this week and will make a reprisal in March 2022 (so don’t worry you haven’t missed it). The theatre is a great way to escape and be wowed by the immense work and creativity involved in creating productions such as these.

Opera North is a national opera company that are based in Leeds, and produce a wide range of operas and performances, that are toured around theatres in the North of the UK. They have varied length times and types of performances that mean that you can be an opera novice to a well-established lover of this genre. As well as opera, they hold events and workshops within the community, touring to over 25 Cities mainly within the North, but also occasionally in London and some international festivals. Thankfully with the return of the performances means a return for us to be able to review them, and means that you can get off your sofas and be fully immersed in live opera once more.

What we thought of the Bernstein Double Bill 

This performance was unique in that it featured an opera at the start in one act, a spoken poem accompanied by dance in the centre followed by a dance performance in the second act.

The first act was the evening started Trouble in Tahiti, a short opera performed in just 45 minutes. This was written by Bernstein in 1951, and is taken from aspects of his own childhood, with a husband and wife, Sam (played by Quirijn De Lang) and Dinah (played by Sandra Pique Eddy), who are trapped in their own individual lives which have made their lives together unbearable. We see their struggles, as Sam doesn’t fit with his home life and is treated like some sort of god in the office, however, in contrast, Dinah finds solace in her own company with her books and magazines and detests her job as a homemaker. We hear them bicker throughout the humdrum of this melancholic performance. Although it was easy to follow, I felt the music to be flat, although I did enjoy the harmony singing by The Trio (played by, Laura Kelly-McKinroy, Joseph Shovelton, Nicholas Butterfield), which took you back to the era of the opera’s creation. I also enjoyed their pockets of music throughout, as they brought a bit of light to the dark feeling that is created with the story of Sam and Dinah.

Moving onto the sets in this performance, which were crisp and simple, yet so effective. They had managed to create the aura of the 1950s by just creating a few key pieces, such as the melamine table and chairs in Sam and Dinah’s kitchen, and the posters that featured on some of the walls.  The most stand out parts of the sets had to be the lighting, the atmosphere that was created from certain spotlights shinning on either the cast or different parts of the stage added such depth and dimension to what could have appeared otherwise 2D.

Halfway and Beyond, was a poem spoken and written by Khadijah Ibrahiim, accompanied by Phoenix Dance Theatre. I felt that this piece didn’t have the same connective bridge that Opera North had hoped for at this middle point in the performance. I actually felt it unconnected, and although as an individual piece the dance performance was beautiful and had an improvised feeling to it, which really made it a unique and contemporary dance. However, I struggled to connect the words to the dance, which meant I was not able to follow the words from the poem – I actually wish they had been written in the program so that they would be easier to process. Now, this could be down to me focusing on the usual sounds that also accompanied the dance and being to preoccupied looking at the movement as opposed to really listening to what the words meant.

The final piece performed by Phoenix Dance Theatre with the music from Bernstein’s West Side Story with Symphonic Dances was just what we needed to end the night. The variety of dancing squashed in this 30-minute performance was phenomenal. However, in parts, the original story was lost. Although it is different intentionally, as per Bernstein’s alteration to the order of the scenes in order to allow the music and dance to flow more freely than the original of West Side story.  Equally, on top of these already apparent differences were the adaptation of the narrative from its original Romeo and Juliet style story to the one made by the Phoenix Dance Theatre, which looked at the conflict from South Africa in the 1950s and 60s. It did try to portray some of the complexities of friendship and love but it was hard to distinguish the story within this. I love West Side Story and although this was an attempt at creating a new version displaying the difficulties that took place in South Africa at the time, the swapping and chasing of the friendships/disagreements through each of the dancers, made it hard to follow where the problems began and ended.

All in all the fragmented story of each of acts, didn’t make for a cohesive performance, however, both had certain positive aspects that could be pulled from each part. In particular, Trouble in Tahiti shone through via its strong sets and lighting, along with the quality of the performers singing, and the Symphonic Dances were exciting to watch as they moved between varying styles of dances, and used pockets of each dancer’s to express different aspects of the narrative, which allowed to really appreciate their skills as performers.

When will the next show be?

After The Lowry, the productions move to Nottingham Theatre Royal completing the tour on Saturday, 20 November.

About The Lowry Theatre

The Lowry is a registered charity committed to using visual and performing arts to enrich people’s lives. They present audiences with a diverse programme of theatre, opera, musicals, dance, music, comedy and visual art as well as events and activities to expand the horizons of audiences and artists alike.  At the heart of their work is a commitment to the local communities and young people. Tapping into the work on their ur stages and in their galleries, they offer thousands of free creative participation opportunities each year. They are passionate about nurturing talent, developing creative professionals of the future and raising aspirations.

About Opera North

Opera North is a national opera company based in Leeds, and is a leading UK arts organisation. Rooted in the North of England, international in outlook, they create extraordinary experiences, every day.  Their award-winning work tours to theatre stages and concert halls throughout the North and beyond, including to London and major international festivals, and they curate an eclectic artistic programme of gigs, concerts, spoken word and film in the Howard Assembly Room. Their aim is to make bold, innovative, ambitious work and share it in new ways. Opera North believes opera and music is for everyone and champions diversity in artists, repertoire and audiences. Opera North Education connects with communities and inspires each generation, aiming to enhance the health and well-being of people in the communities where we work through arts participation and performance.  Opera North is grateful for the generous support of Arts Council England and Leeds City Council, sponsorship from the private sector, trusts and individuals, the Friends of Opera North, the Opera North Future Fund and the box office income from its audiences, which allows us to continue to mount our award-winning work.

Review by: Lex Ward

You may also want to read this:

Review: Street Scene, An Opera North Production at The Lowry

Review: Arya a concerto by Jasdeep Singh Degun & Orchestra of Opera North

Review: Opera North’s La Bohème at The Lowry, Salford Quays

Photo Credit: Opera North