The song of Walter Braunfels went silent for decades, thanks partly to Nazi persecution. Now, thanks entirely to Pacific Opera Victoria, his half-forgotten opera The Birds has made its Canadian debut.
POV’s production, continuing at the Royal Theatre Sunday and Wednesday, is a whiz-bang spectacular. The score is gorgeous, although some may find it musically conservative . The circus-like visuals are striking — often breathtaking, sometimes bordering on kitsch.If you’re like me, you hadn’t heard of Walter Braunfels, a German composer who fell into obscurity for decades. His is a curious story.
We’re treated to a visual feast, courtesy of designers Pam Johnson , Nancy Bryant and Eric Champoux . A massive disc looming over the stage is home to myriad projections such as a winking silver moon and an army of birds. The overall look is big and bold. Giant red poppies pop up, jumbo puppets stalk the stage, bird king Hoopoe boasts a wing-span covering half the stage.
We meet her rising slowly through the air in a black sequined costume with a plumed headdress — a celestial entering a world of melancholy. On opening night Sévigné looked like some mysterious apparition from the 1920s — and her singing was enchanting. The Nightingale song tips its beak to Mozart’s trilling Queen of the Night aria. Birdlike in nature, it’s replete with treacherously difficult high notes.
Hard work and attention to detail always shows on stage. Johnson’s set is wonderfully imaginative. The chorus transforms convincingly into a flock thanks to birdlike movements and feathery costumes. Director Glynis Leyshon’s unerring ability for making a stage shudder into life keeps us entertained — even through an over-long second act. Conductor Timothy Vernon leads the Victoria Symphony through a score that is lush, lyrical and nuanced.
And so the gas-lighting begins. Isobel is joined by Tony , a loutish alpha-male who enters marathons only because he wants to have sex with the female organizers. Alan Penty plays the boss, who naturally sides with the bullies.
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