Jake Lyle and Amy Manford shine in best Opera on the Harbour yet
GHOST OF THE OPERA
Opera Australia, 27 March
until May 3
Mrs Macquarie’s Point
Reviewed by JOYCE MORGAN
★★★★½
Down jackets mixed with dinner jackets as customers arrived amid rain, wind and unseasonably cold weather.
It looked like the Phantom was about to cast a stormy curse on this outdoor production.
But when that exciting opening tune was heard, the skies were clear.
This was the beginning of a night of theatrical magic; An inspiring production equal to the magnificence of the harbor background.
Much of its impact lies in Gabriela Tylesova’s captivating, imaginative design, which combines the majestic and the intimate.
On one side of the stage is a tower of ornate theater boxes and a broken proscenium arch, and across the width is an enormous staircase. The famous chandelier hangs above the stage right. Tylesova’s costumes are a riot of colour, sparkle and excess.
But this is a dark domestic drama – or melodrama – that follows a 19th-century Paris opera house as the deformed, mask-wearing Phantom becomes obsessed with young singer Christine.
This “angel of music” reveals himself to be pure evil: a manipulator, a murderer, and a kind of incel who lives in an underground bunker beneath the Paris Opera, the gothic equivalent of his parents’ basement.
This is a shelter reached not by a foggy lake but by a ring of burning fire, and it works beautifully.
When the chandelier falls, it does so slowly, but is accompanied by fireworks that are an Opera in the Harbor set piece.
This is a return to the 2022 production of Opera in the Harbor. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 40-year-old energetic and stylish musical is once again directed by Simon Phillips and accompanied by Simone Sault’s elegant choreography.
The sound quality is outstanding, as music director Guy Simpson conducts the orchestra hidden beneath the stage. Shelly Lee’s sound design allowed the Phantom’s voice to be heard from different directions at times, enhancing the menacing sense of his omnipresence.
The famous riff is repeated at key points, and its chilling power remains undiminished – even if Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters thinks Lloyd Webber borrowed it from the band’s 1971 track echoes.
Jake Lyle’s rich baritone presents a Specter full of menace, while also evoking sympathy for his damaged, demonic soul. This is an impressive professional debut from the 22-year-old.
She pairs well with Amy Manford’s Christine, who has sung the role internationally. The clarity of her voice reflects the innocence of a young woman struggling with dark desires.
Completing this love triangle is the flamboyant, dynamic Jarrod Draper as Christine’s suitor Raoul.
Standouts in the supporting cast include Debora Krizak as the intimidating ballet mistress Madame Giry and Jayme Jo Massoud as Christine’s friend Meg.
As comic duo Firmin and Andre, Brent Hill and Martin Crewes bring Gilbert & Sullivan humor to their witty conversations.
With its extravagance and drama, this musical seems better suited to this larger setting than being thrown onto the Opera House stage as it was four years ago.
This 40th anniversary production is the best Ghost and Opera in the Harbor to date. All the elements, including meteorological ones, came together on a potentially turbulent night.
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Joyce Morgan is theater critic for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is the former arts editor and writer for SMH and is also an author.Connect with: X.
