Musical theatre on the grand scale
Aberdeen’s HM Theatre will be transformed into the Colosseum of Rome this weekend when three of the world’s best-loved operatic tearjerkers come to town. Opera impresario Ellen Kent told Caroline Brodie how producing and directing this spectacular triple-bill had been her biggest challenge yet
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EMBARKING on a UK tour with three major operas is no mean feat, not even for someone who’s been in the business as long as Ellen Kent.
But luckily for theatregoers, Ellen’s desire to stage these lavish productions – featuring some of the world’s very best young talent – outweighs any misgivings she might have about taking on such mammoth tasks.
Music lovers will be treated this weekend to a feast of true love, romance and treachery, as two of Italian composer Puccini’s most famous operas, La Bohème and Tosca, take the stage alongside Bizet’s Carmen.
Although Ellen has staged all three operas in the past – albeit never all together – she is not one to rest on her laurels and likes to give audiences something new with each telling.
This time, she came up with the idea of bringing a touch of Italy to the stage, by setting all three productions within a huge amphitheatre, designed by Will Bowen – a London theatre consultant who works with the Royal Albert Hall, Soho Theatre and National Theatre – and built by the national theatre of Moldova.
Speaking about the new Ellen Kent Amphitheatre Productions venture, she said: “I always have something new to offer audiences and this time I decided to create an amphitheatre, based on the Colosseum of Rome, in which to stage all three operas.
“It is all about going back to the roots of Greek and Roman theatre. It is a huge structure and very grand.”
As well as lavish sets, audiences can also expect more of the fabulous costumes and hugely talented young singers that have come to be associated with her productions.
Ellen said the hand-picked cast of singers hailed from England, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine and would feature Korean soprano Elena Dee – who played Madame Butterfly to huge acclaim at HMT back in March – as Tosca, and Zauri Vardanean as Carmen.
Music will be provided by the Chisinau National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. There will also be parts for young singers from Aberdeen’s Phoenix Youth Theatre in Tosca and La Bohème and for Granite City Band in Carmen.
Asked how she decided which operas to tour with, she said: “I choose them purely for their stories. It’s simple: these are three of the best operas going, both visually and musically.
“Tosca is very theatrical and is based on a Victorian melodrama. It’s a drama-based opera and I love drama-based operas.
“La Bohème is very sad, which makes it a good contrast in the middle and Carmen again is very dramatic and you can have a bit of fun with it.”
Ellen said the amphitheatre was the perfect setting for the Seville bullring in Bizet’s masterpiece, and that she had added a few new twists, including a Spanish brass band – played by Granite City Band – which will parade through the venue alongside the singers.
Ellen started touring opera more than 14 years ago and is renowned for introducing Eastern European opera to the UK.
The former actress got into the business after being asked by Rochester City Council to find “something spectacular” for its annual arts festival back in 1993 and managed to raise the funds needed to fly the cast of the Romanian National Opera’s Nabucco over in what had been fallen dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s private plane.
The ensuing performance was seen by 7,000 people in the rain against a backdrop of Rochester Castle and proved a big hit.
Since then, Ellen has worked with a host of companies from Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine to bring traditional operas to the UK.
She has also set up her own production company in Moldova, where she has worked extensively with the Chisinau National Opera since 1996.
In 2006, she received a medal from the president of Moldova for her contribution to the arts there, and has also been awarded the Golden Fortune Honorary Medal by Ukrainian president Vladimir Yushchenko for introducing Ukrainian opera to the UK.
Despite all this, Ellen described producing and directing three operas as being her biggest challenge yet.
She said: “It has been a big challenge, I can assure you. It’s probably the biggest project I’ve ever tackled, just the whole approach to directing them and the new spin I’ve put on them.”
But she is confident that audiences will not be left wanting for more.
She added: “I would say, don’t bother going to Verona, the Arena di Verona will come to you.
“Forget about opera and just see it as a show. As soon as you say opera, people run a mile. I like to think of it as musical theatre.”
She added: “If you want to have a really good evening out at a great show, where there are fabulous sets and costumes and beautiful music, you can’t beat this. It will have everything you want and more in terms of entertainment.”
HM Theatre, Aberdeen, shows Tosca tonight, La Bohème tomorrow and Carmen on Saturday.All performances start at 7.30pm. For more information and tickets, visit www.boxoffice aberdeen.com or call 01224 641122.
