#ENGLISH TOURING OPERA FULL#

Alienated? IвЂ™m afraid I was: a bright idea has got confusingly out of hand.ДЄdam WiltshireвЂ™s set, with its multi-purpose, mobile blocks of scaffolding against a palette of gloomy earth colours, creates a melancholy backdrop for this fable of humanity at the end of its economic and spiritual tether. In case this dose of Verfremdungseffekt doesnвЂ™t do the trick of keeping us alert, the translated lyrics for the songs sometimes appear on screens, sometimes scrawled on placards, inscribed on scrolls or even spooled on spindles that unfurl the text across the stage.

The shadow of WeillвЂ™s recent sidekick Brecht falls across the production in many ways, not least in the alternation of English for the spoken dialogue and German for most of the sung numbers (except for the Chorus, who deliver their warnings and admonitions in English). (ETO are playing it alongside another such hybrid, MozartвЂ™s The Seraglio).

This version, directed by James Conway and conducted by James Holmes, radically slims down KaiserвЂ™s dialogue and so tilts the balance of the work towards, if not full-blown opera, then at least the classic Singspiel. It follows the fate of a jobless worker, Severin, his entanglement with the conscience-stricken policeman who shoots and injures him, Olim, and their final journey towards a reconciliation that has both political and mystical dimensions ( pictured above, David Webb as Severin and Ronald Samm as Olim). The Silver Lake begins in satire and ends in symbolism. Even if this brooding and sombre вЂњwinterвЂ™s taleвЂќ lacks the crowd-pleasing cheek and bite of The Threepenny Opera or the tawdry showbiz splendours of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, all praise to ETO and its resourceful team and cast for reviving it to shed light from the past on our own conflicted times. The Silver Lake comes to Hackney Empire, with a national tour to follow, as a rare and precious glimpse of the sort of ambitious, multilayered music-drama вЂ“ Weill, inspired by MozartвЂ™s The Magic Flute, thought of it as a Singspiel вЂ“ that the progressive Weimar stage could host on the eve of its total annihilation. Weill himself fled the nascent dictatorship for America soon after the premiere. They then incinerated the score during the book-burnings of. Although it lacks much of the acid topicality and mischief that marks WeillвЂ™s partnerships with Bertolt Brecht, that did not stop the newly-empowered Nazis from swiftly closing the productions down. The Musicians' Union put it best: ' clearly worksВ against creating an inclusive environment for more diverse musicians.His third collaboration with the prolific, maverick playwright Georg Kaiser, Kurt WeillвЂ™s The Silver Lake ( Der Silbersee) opened in three German cities (Leipzig, Magdeburg and Erfurt) just 19 days after Hitler had come to power in 1933. The opera hasn't answered questions about whether itВ fully replaced the old guard, raising concerns that diversity is being used to justify a clear out.

#ENGLISH TOURING OPERA FULL#

It paid 67 of them in full for itsВ cancelled Spring 2020 tour, and the good news is several new faces have been offered work with ETOВ for the first time.Д«ut its decision means a group of mid-to-late-career musicians who have long relied on the opera for work will be thrust into an unpredictable winter just as income support draws to a close. The opera is not insensitive to freelancers' needs. In trying to alignВ itself with what it thought the council wanted, the ETO shot itself in the foot.В ACE, sensing a scandal, has distanced itself from the opera's actions whilst continuing to advocate for aВ transformation in the sector's workforce.Д®TO DirectorВ James Conway has acknowledged the need to prioritise diversity in an artform that is too often dominated by people of privilege. 39% are White, 26% are straight, and 40% non-disabled, according to ACE's data. The quality of data we have is poor, but we know at leastВ 43% of artists working for portfolio organisations are White, 38% are straight and 54% identify as not having a disability.Дiversity is actually greater among National Portfolio Organisations' contracted musicians. There are other larger companies thatВ should be more concerned.Д«ut workforces are perhaps harder to shift. Like 75% of Arts Council England'sВ National Portfolio, ETO received a 'met' rating in last year's Creative Case for Diversity. If diversity of audiences is the goal, English Touring Opera (ETO) was too hasty in ending contracts for 14 orchestral musicians. Who'sВ on stage is often reflected in who fills the seats - an entrenched and vicious cycle many in the sector are doggedlyВ trying to rectify. Five years ago this week, MPs were warned that classical music was becoming 'a white middle class thing'.

English touring opera