OTELLO

OTELLO, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House,  9th July - 2nd August. Photography: Branco Gaica; Main: James Eggleston, Lianna Haroutounian and Jacqueline Dark. Right: Claudio Sgura and Simon O'Neill.

If you're an opera traditionalist, you will love Opera Australia's production of Otello. It has big sets, big costumes, big voices and enough ham on stage to cater for a Christmas lunch.

This production of course is a revival and therefore many of the creative decisions could be attributed to the former director Harry Kupfer. But current director Roger Press does really need to take some responsibility for its lack of creativity and curious choices.

The character of Otello is commanding, charming, sexy, a natural leader and of course a Moor. Why then cast a white man in the lead?

Sure New Zealand native Simon O'Neill does an adequate job in the sense that his voice suits the role - if you can get past all the ridiculous melodrama and over acting. But surely there are plenty of people of suitable race that can sing the libretto and look the part. This is one of the biggest flaws with this production. It's quite offensive and irritating to watch a "blacked up" Otello bumble his way around the stage. 

The rest of the cast however, are fabulous. The last minute casting of Lianna Haroutounian as Desdemona is the right choice. She is beautiful in the role both vocally and physically. Claudio Sgura as the treacherous Iago is all that he should be - duplicitous, snide, conniving and machiavellian.

Technically this production achieves a lot. Lighting designer, Toby Sewell and set designer, Hans Schavernoch create a convincingly stormy and tumultuous environment which physicalises what is happening in the plot. 

The Opera Australia Chorus are really the backbone of this production in a musical sense and help to move the story along at pace.

But under Roger Press' direction there is a lot of unnatural gesticulating, flouncing around the stage and over-emoting, basically all the crimes against naturalistic performing that opera has been guilty of in the past. What makes this so perplexing is Opera Australia's other production Rigoletto which is slated in tandem with Otello is the direct opposite under the deft hand of Roger Hodgman.

But I guess then, there is something for everyone. Ham sandwich anyone?