Opera is often stereotyped as an elitist, tuxedo and ballgown toted event.
Archaic in language and overly accessorised by multiple vocalists, large orchestra, overly exaggerated costumes, maximise every sensory element in one massive show.
In a recent interview by WA Opera, Director Cameron Menzies believes his work is not fixed in time, rather they portray thoughts and emotions that modern audiences still understand.
“We often think opera is about kings, queens and mythology, but Onegin is really about emotional timing,” he said.
“There’s also something remarkably modern about that,” Mr Menzies.
The northern Irish production presents a tale of hope, betrayal and a romance of glass castle.
Like many people, the test of failed relationships or the “what ifs’” for audiences comes with a reminder of the past or sometimes the present.
“They’re all wonderfully human. They make impulsive choices, they misunderstand each other, they allow pride to get in the way, and sometimes they realise what they’ve lost far too late”, he said.
Written in 1823–1831, Pushkin’s novel takes audiences through a heart wrenching, theatrical, and dramatic stage play poetizing unrequited love.
Opera has a way of expressing opulence and allure by its artistic approach when expressing this type of historic artforms.
Menzies likens Tchaikovsky’s orchestral piece as a way the characters can emote feelings if they haven’t actually done it.
“Tchaikovsky has this extraordinary gift of allowing the orchestra to express everything the characters cannot bring themselves to say,” he said.
“Sometimes you’ll hear the truth in the orchestra long before the characters themselves recognise it,” Menzies said.
The Opera is a place for everyone
Jayden Silulu, who has attended many opera performances said opera still offers entertainment that can be consumed by almost anyone.
“Operas’ are usually based on historical events or eras but I feel like the underlying message of some operas are definitely still relevant in this new age”, he said.
Mr Silulu said that although the stigma attached to the opera is perceived to be formal, his expectations were challenged.
“I had also gone to the opera recently feeling like I was forced to dress and act some type of way, but once I had walked into His Majesty’s Theatre I realised those assumptions weren’t as true as I had initially perceived them,” he said.
Mr Silulu urged younger audiences to take a chance at being entertained by the opera, even though modern forms of entertainment are easier to consume, he said they could be missing out on new ways of expression.
“I know more and more content of every format is being produced and opera nowadays feels like an art form that may seem a bit more out of reach,” he said.
“It is a nice thing to go and do something seemingly elegant”, Mr Silulu said.
A stage you had to see to believe
It’s not all about the dramatisation of the performance that evokes emotion in opera.
Through skilled craftsmanship, subtle details of design itself cultivate emotion within different scenes.
Irish scenographer Niall Mckeever balanced both brutish blues stained the industrial spaces against softer yellows of hay stacks and farms.
The backdrop of the stage throughout the score garnered rustic covered trails of masonry seen in historical Russian constructivism.
Soft yet impactful spotlighting patterned with gobo lights pulled focus on the lead soloist offering provoked an emotion in every scene.
A large crittall window at the top of the wall illuminated sun colored light for day scenes and moon light blue tones for night scenes.
Furniture staggered throughout different scenes some upturned others positioned for setting preempted chaotic situations or aroused emotion yet to be experienced between performers.
Menzies offers a fresh perspective for audiences with his score.
“The wonderful thing about Onegin is that you don’t need to know anything about Russian history or nineteenth-century literature to enjoy it”, he said.
“You simply follow the relationships between these people. If you’ve ever experienced first love, rejection, embarrassment, loss or wondered “what if?”, then you’re already halfway into the story,” Menzies said.
Ra Castel
I am a journalist student at ECU, YouTuber and Content producer with over 249K views on TikTok, 25K+ views on Instagram reels and posts and 4k views on YouTube. My intent for my works to progress into more video journalism that will cover all sorts of topics from entertainment and breaking news. Other journalist mediums I am interested in diving into are podcasting, radio and content creation. You can find me on all social media platforms and Linkedin for more content.
