Heard it on the Grapevine
BARRIE Kosky’s characteristically um … unusual new version of Kiss Me Kate for Komisch Oper, Berlin has – also characteristically – had patrons and critics ripping each other’s throats out in a frenzy of “brilliant!” v “appalling” arguments.
Word is that it was visited by Opera Australia types with a view to getting Bazza to do it for them here next year or 2010.
After the money-spinning popularity and critical and artistic success of Pirates of Penzance and My Fair Lady, OA would do well to maintain the plan of programming an irresistible crowd-pleaser each year.
And Barrie Kosky’s oeuvre is both crowd pleasing and crowd enraging: he generates his own fan- and hate-club wherever he goes and life is never dull. Neither are his productions.
German TV filmed Kiss Me Kate and, natch, clips from it are now on YouTube. Take a look and see for yourself what the oldest enfant terrible in the business has been up to in Europe.
