With its current and thoughtfully considered staging of two meaty 20th century works, Melbourne-based IOpera welcomingly continues its objective to promote access to and interest in opera on an intimate scale.
Alternating across 4 performances, Benjamin Britten’s psychologically tormentative The Turn of the Screw and Gian Carlo Menotti’s farcical and pitiable tale of The Old Maid and the Thief make a rewardingly piquant pair. The works may differ sharply in mood and musical style but both shimmer with mystery, curiosity and cover-ups.
Psychological complexity pervades Britten’s 1954 premiered chamber opera, The Turn of the Screw. Based on Henry James’ 1898 novella of the same name, it’s a work characterised by disquieting uncertainties and unresolved ambiguities. Nothing is what it seems and vice-versa.
The story revolves around a young Governess who arrives at the country estate of Bly to care for two orphaned children, Miles and Flora. She begins to see ghosts who Mrs Gross, the housekeeper, identifies as former servants Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The Governess believes they are corrupting the children and, as her fear grows, so does the ambiguities. Whether the ghosts are real or imagined adds to the mystery.
Britten’s work explores ideas of innocence lost, obsession, and psychological decay with music of immense depth and fluidity that ranges from sweet nursery rhyme melody to pounding, ominous squalls.
With no skimping on orchestral output and positioned on a raised platform in front of the action, conductor Peter Tregear presided over the usual specified number of 13 musicians to produce a sterling, eerie soundscape, chimes and all at Wednesday evening’s opening.
Director Robert Macfarlane – also taking on the part of Prologue and Peter Quint – used the opening scene to show a young woman in distress on a couch in front of her psychiatrist. She also later played the part of Miles. One and the same? At the works conclusion it would’ve appear so with the young Miles having clearly suffered childhood trauma as well as having a violent streak and possible gender dysphoria.
As another layer on an already complex state that deflected attentions away from The Governess’s central role, the concept seemed conveniently bookended rather than inwardly explored.
Nevertheless, the eeriness of the work was achieved with economy in furnishings and props and powerful singing. A retro television is central to a setting sometime presumably in the latter 20th century, delivering images that hinted to the scenes enacted, as well as of Peter Quint, Miss Jessel and The Governess – certainly a nod to iconic 1982 thriller movie Poltergeist.
That it may have acted as a vehicle for Miles’ flashbacks was unclear but, together with Anton Brouwer’s dramatically triggered lighting moods and ghostly silhouettes, the sense of the supernatural existed.
Just how much that was conveyed was evident in the shock that ripped through the audience when a bang on the public entrance door at the end of Act 1 sounded and a strange woman held the room hostage reciting the words, “The ceremony of innocent is drowned,” mimicking words that would come in Act 2.
The cast includes the luxury of soprano Elena Xanthoudakis’ presence as The Governess. In an illuminating and refined performance that signalled mastery outside the bel canto roles she is known for among locals, it was Xanthoudakis’ frighteningly employed vibrato that underlined tensions and remarkably.
As Mrs Gross, Amanda Windred served the story suitably with a matriarchal air and a splendidly robust soprano to match. Voluptuous soprano Lee Abrahmsen and excellently nuanced tenor Robert Macfarlane respectively depicted the haunting Miss Jessel and threatening Peter Quint with generous expressive energy while their character’s sexual dalliances were glaringly exposed.
Utilising maturity over age-appropriateness, soprano Roberta Diamond and young emerging artist Breanna Stuart were a particularly convincing duo in their conveyance of childhood playfulness and spirit of innocence as Miles and Flora with Diamond’s rendering of Miles’ behavioural decline a notably fine performance.
Despite its English libretto, an unacceptable amount of Myfanwy Piper’s libretto was lost to the music and, occasionally, to some overwhelming decibels for such an intimate space. At the end of the performance, however, you wouldn’t have left unmoved.
At a little over one hour, composer and librettist Menotti’s one-act The Old Maid and the Thief – originally commissioned as a radio opera and first broadcast in 1939 – is a neatly crafted gem. Without the ability to attend either of the two public performances, I was lucky to attend the final rehearsal. And what a fantastic experience it was.
It tells the story of the spinster Miss Todd and her maid Letitia who fall for the same mysterious “all together handsome” drifter, Bob, who knocks at their door. Reports of an escaped criminal of similar appearance have them believe he’s the thief but attraction gets the better of them, ironically leading them to steal for him to stay while deflecting neighbourhood busy-body Miss Pinkerton’s suspicions.
But it all backfires when Bob tells Miss Todd he doesn’t love her in the slightest. Bob and Laetitia take off with Miss Todd’s car along with her valuables leaving her to arrive home with the face of respectability facing the aftermath of societal hypocrisy and moral decay.
In a thoroughly entertaining and seamless affair, Lisette Bolton’s direction (Bolton also takes the role of Miss Pinkerton) marries Menotti’s broad and succulent musical palette with an always engaging and stylistically animated staging. It’s all achieved with simple elements that provide a visually convincing whole.
The performance space is similarly open and backed by the raised area where the orchestra reside. Costume designer Elizabeth Giddings employs bold primaries with panache to articulate her characters and Anton Brouwer once again lights events with exacting mood.
Each of the short 14 scenes were introduced with slickness by Narrator, Daniel Felton. In its final rehearsal, Saskia Mascitti rested her voice but brought amusingly affected sophistication to the part of Miss Todd while Felton and Bolton shared the lines commendably.
As Miss Pinkerton, Bolton perfectly conjured the archetypal meddling neighbour with a bundle of high-alert tension while, as Bob, Nicholas Beecher cruised through events with spirited independence employing his warm and cleanly outlined baritone.
Certainly the eye-catching standout and doing great honour to the spotlight in a soaring performance, soprano Teresa Ingrilli’s nuanced and expressive display embodied Laetitia’s perky, playful and wily nature.
Working wisely together, Bolton and conductor Peter Tregear astutely brought out the comic aspects of the opera while keeping the pace moving fluidly. The 13 musicians also proved to be well-prepared and eager to unite to promote Menotti’s irresistible music as part of what, in all entirety, amounted to uncomplicated musical and theatrical satisfaction.
Hats off to IOpera! Importantly, as a platform for both seasoned artists and young and developing performers, musicians and creative teams, the company is engendering professional progression that is critical for opera and audiences alike.
The Turn of the Screw | The Old Maid and the Thief
Athenaeum Theatre 2, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne
Season: 17 – 20 September 2025
Information and Bookings: www.iopera.com.au
Images: The Old Maid and The Thief – photo by Jonathan White | The Turn of the Screw – photo by Joa the Scientist | The Old Maid and The Thief – photo by Jonathan White | The Old Maid and The Thief – photo by Jonathan White
Review: Paul Selar