Reviewed: Circusand Scholl, UO/Schultsz
Circus Project Arts Centre, Dublin
How can circus survive in an age of technological spectacle, when digital manipulation can make the incredible possible and the invisible appear before our eyes? Circus, the latest production from Barabbas, does not ask this question. However, implicit in its delivery of a captivating sequence of simple side-show tricks lies one of the solutions to the contemporary dilemma that the art form faces. Director Raymond Keane's attempt to harness traditional clowning feats to a developed narrative in the form of a "circus play" proves a deceptively simple and thoroughly effective way of convincing an audience that the raw tools of circus - the human face, the human body - are capable of creating as much joy, as much awe, as any computer-generated extravaganza.
Inspired by Fellini's film La Strada, Raymond Keane creates a love triangle, in which a pair of brothers find themselves without a third clown for their circus routine, and invite a young woman, with whom they are both in love, to join their troupe. The brothers share intimate moments with Tina Segnier's novice Angelina, as they teach her the art of the trapeze and the tumble, but it is Fanning's Harle that seduces her (and the audience) with his supple aerial skills. O'Grady, meanwhile, moves from disappointed to deranged as the spurned lover and vengeful brother, Gubu.
Sabine Dargent's beautiful set transforms the Space Upstairs at the Project; her ribbon-striped Big Top, hand-painted circus ring and red velvet backdrop creating an appropriate segue-way between reality and theatrical illusion. Trevor Knight's playful live score and Sinéad McKenna's teasing lighting design bring depth and atmosphere to the evolving tone of the unfolding story.
Some of the visual metaphors in this spellbinding production (most specifically the angel motifs) stretch the fantasy a little thin, especially when Circus so successfully harnesses the potential for magic in mundane things. Children are always receptive to such transformations, but that there are no matinées and no child ticket prices seems to almost deliberately exclude them from participating in the delight, which seems foolish. But perhaps it is the cynical adult mind that needs to be reminded of the joy that can be found in simple pleasures.
Until 10th November - Sara Keating
Scholl, UO/Schultsz NCH, Dublin Michael Dervan
Leading German counter tenor Andreas Scholl made a belated Irish début at the National Concert Hall on Wednesday. And the prolonged applause that greeted him when he first appeared made clear just how glad his listeners were at finally having an opportunity to hear him in concert.
The all-Handel programme, a promotion by the Ulster Orchestra with sponsorship from Ulster Bank, suffered a number of changes of conductor, with Dutchman Jan Schultsz taking charge after Lawrence Renes (himself a replacement) had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury.
Schultsz is a pianist and horn player turned conductor, and his experience includes playing in regular as well as period-instruments orchestras, and work as a chamber musician and accompanist.
The light touch he often brought to the orchestral playing showed an awareness of period-instruments practices. The music-making was often brisk, darting, and snappy. But the expressive sharpness of period players was harder to emulate, and the orchestra occasionally defaulted to a modern fullness of tone. His control of the orchestra was hugely important to the evening's success. Scholl's beautifully controlled voice is not large, certainly not of a size to give the impression of filling the National Concert Hall, save in the highest part of his range, where he has a kind of turbo-charger that he employs with taste.
Schultsz's manipulation of the orchestra on a kind of pygmy scale was essential to creating a framework in which Scholl could communicate without compromise across a range of emotions from grief and longing to triumph laced with venom. He has a delightful ease and his voice never sounds unwieldy. The art of embellishment, so important in baroque opera, seems to come naturally and easily to him. And his actual tone has a clear beauty.
The programme, which included numerous orchestral excerpts (including a suite from the Water Music) among the arias, was well conceived to peak in the second half, with Scholl's gentle Ombra mai fu (still best known as Handel's Largo) following the extraordinary virtuosity of Vivi tiranno, a performance which, on its own, would have made clear to any listener that they were in the presence of one of the most extraordinary performers of our time.
Repeated at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, tonight
