The English Touring Opera Double Bill At Lighthouse Poole Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel S-W
Having only just been introduced to opera less than a year ago, it is all relatively new to me. So the English Touring Opera gave me that opportunity tonight by giving me the chance to watch a Double Bill. I’ve never watched anything like this, where the first half is one show and the second is completely different but the small changes are made to the set to make it work. This Double Bill features two operas, Blond Eckbert which is a tale of isolation and guilt based on a supernatural short story by the Romantic author Ludwig Tieck, together with Do Not Take My Story For A Fairytale which contains a series of beautiful sung and worded songs about love, wanting to step away from the world to protect yourself and isolation. The advert for the operas said that they were sung in English with English surtitles however the first act was in German with English surtitles.
The staging for these shows was fantastic. To the left of the stage was one sided modern room with a giant tree that had fallen into it which was used as a cave. Giant silver birch trees dominated the right hand side, and they were huge! The first opera was Do Not Take My Story For A Fairytale which featuring music from the same period that Ludwig Tieck’s story Der Blonde Eckbert was written, these included Schubert’s Prometheus and Beethoven’s An Die Ferne Gelibte, as well as a cantata by Mariana Martines, Do Not Take My Story For. Considering Blond Eckbert was hundreds of years old, the English Touring Opera Company really gave it a modern twist and setting and it really worked and brought it up to date. The only problem with having the trees on the stage was I was sitting right in front of one so there were times where I missed some of the action.
Judith Weir’s Blond Eckbert starts off being navigated by the Bird which explains some of the back story that Eckbert and his wife Berthe live in a quiet forest home away from others. The costumes are modern and tells a story of isolation but when a visit from a wandering friend Walther turns their normal lives upside down, a series of revelations and mysteries take their toll on Eckbert. The Bird was brilliant, bird-like movements, sharp eyes and facial expressions really made her stand out, and her voice was simply amazing.
I really enjoyed the operas however, I was very confused as to what Opera we were watching and at what time. The bill listed Blond Eckbert first so I was very confused when there wasn’t the storyline that I’d been expecting and read up about… and especially confused that there was no bird. I was looking around the stage trying to make sense of it and it wasn’t until the second half that I realised they had been switched.
The musical programme features amongst others, music from Bach, Beethoven and Schubert. In the pit, a live orchestra using period instruments to make the Opera more authentic.
This was an ideal chance to get a taster of two very different shows. Both had exceptional vocals, simply beautiful
Rating: 3.5/5
Tickets for the show started from £25 and us designed for 8+
This was a one night show but the Lighthouse consists of multiple performance spaces such as the concert hall, theatre, smaller studios and a cinema so they have a host of things to pique your interest.
The English Touring Opera also has another show, The Snowmaiden on 16th November and tickets can be booked here https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/the-snowmaiden/
Visit their What’s On Guide here.
The full address is Lighthouse, Arts and Entertainment, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG