The Marriage of Figaro, Opera Holland Park, review: pastel wigs, partner-swapping and peacocks
The usual tiered seating at Opera Holland Park (OHP) has been replaced by an eclectic array of individual chairs. Perched on a small wooden specimen that resembles my mother’s dining-room furniture, I wonder whether I have unwittingly signed up to an immersive performance (the horror).
In fact, the new arrangement comprises props from past productions – which, ingeniously, means that OHP can organise bespoke configurations to fit with household bookings. However, spacing restrictions still result in a significantly reduced capacity: from 1,000 to just 400. As he introduces Oliver Platt’s new staging of The Marriage of Figaro, CEO James Clutton urges those who can to purchase an ‘invisible chair’ through their Save Our Seats scheme.
Having battled the elements in previous instalments, this year OHP embraces a partially open canopy to allow for air flow. Parakeets squawk from a neighbouring horse chestnut, and, as dusk falls, a peacock brays. It’s a charming reminder of the company’s picturesque location. And Mozart’s frothy farce is a perfect welcome back. There’s no hint of menace or malice in this Figaro; the count’s insatiable libido is a benign amusement, while Marcellina is more friend than foe to Susanna.
The hotchpotch of seating is courtesy of designer takis, who also juxtaposes pastel wigs and bustled gowns with John Lennon-style sunglasses. Susanna wears a lilac headpiece and a lime-green-embellished Regency dress: 1984 film Amadeus meets Katy Perry’s California Gurls video. She flicks through a bridal magazine; Figaro peruses contemporary building plans.
These anachronisms within an otherwise period staging are generally effective. When the chorus praises Julien Van Mellaerts’s rakish count, they shake pom-poms and hold helium balloons; at the dance, they raise glow sticks. It is as though the guests depicted at the Earl of Ilchester’s soirée have stepped out of Holland House’s mural and into a modern-day party.
However, as Susanna and Figaro, Elizabeth Karani and Ross Ramgobin are too tentative with the comedic elements, particularly the slapstick. Ramgobin is awkward as he wrestles the faux-heart-topped topiary; Karani looks like she’s stroking rather than slapping her philandering lover. Samantha Price’s Cherubino comes to the rescue, double-cross-dressing with a wink and a nudge – and delivering a shimmering Voi che sapete.
OHP’s reimagined performance space has many pluses; masks are not mandatory, for one thing. An extended stage features a platform walkway that ensconces the orchestra, a pared-down City of London Sinfonia conducted by George Jackson. Prop changes are minimal; instead, different areas of the stage are dedicated to certain scenes.
But the semi-open aspect plays havoc with the acoustics. The singers fare better when ‘in the round’, despite having their backs to the conductor. There are some velvety moments from Karani, and Nardus Williams is a dazzling – if youthful – countess whose Dove sono is up there with the best. Elsewhere in the cast, James Cleverton impresses as Bartolo and Henry Grant Kerswell raises a smile as the hoodwinked Antonio.
This is an unchallenging Figaro to soothe and salve. Though perhaps not physically: best of luck in the chair lottery…
Until Jun 28. Info: 0300 999 1000; operahollandpark.com