Another academic term, another operatic double-bill! For their final production of the year, the students at the Royal Academy of Music have seized upon a pair of Martinů’s one-act operas, Comedy on the Bridge and Alexandre bis, staged and performed with typical gusto. Martinů has featured fairly regularly in London conservatoire productions over the last few years and Comedy on the Bridge is not unknown, but it has limitations for which Alexandre bis was fortunately able to compensate.
The former started life as a quickly forgotten radio opera prior to the Second World War, before being revived by Martinů’s students at the Mannes School of Music in 1951. It’s a work that, despite director Rachel Hewer’s best efforts, feels overly long, perhaps capturing bureaucratic absurdity a little too effectively – there are only so many times one can hear “stand back” without twitching. The setting is a bridge (unsurprisingly) spanning a river which divides opposing armies, a sentry from each of which guards their respective sides of the bridge. The conceit is that while a pass gets the characters on to the bridge, another pass is needed to cross – and it’s a one-way journey. Cue amorous antics, furious spouses and a teacher obsessed with a riddle.
Perhaps with cuts it might be less tedious, but at 45 minutes, even the lively performances of the young singers couldn’t keep the work from dragging. Of the quintet of principals, Ellen Mawhinney particularly stood out for her nuanced portrayal of Josephine, showing natural stage presence, a wide vocal palette and excellent diction. Mikayel Sargsyan’s warm bass and laconic bearing suited the Brewer, though a little more focus on diction will elevate his performance in future roles. Zahid Siddiqui was slightly underused as the Schoolmaster; he has natural sense of comic timing and a bright tenor, but the role itself hindered these traits from being shown to their best advantage. Baritone Conrad Chatterton was a robustly melodramatic Johnny and Clover Klayne a sympathetic Eva.
Alexandre bis proved to be a surrealist delight, packing a comic punch that allowed the students to demonstrate both musical and theatrical flair. Composed, like Bridge, in the 1930s, it didn’t premiere until a production in Mannheim in 1964, some five years after the composer’s death. It would take too long to attempt to explain the plot, but it involves beards being removed, a talking painting, some moralistic dreams and the testing of a woman’s faithfulness. Rachel Hewer adds to the complexity by turning it into a meta-production in which the “crew” of a fictional opera company (PRATS) frantically try to stop the increasingly farcical events from descending into sheer anarchy. Picture sopranos being knocked out by golfclubs, Leanne Vandenbussche’s superbly shabby set disintegrating and more winks and nudges than a hen weekend, and you will have some idea of the glorious madness of the production.
The sopranos edged out in front for boldness of performance – Erion O’Rourke’s glossy soprano was matched by a bombastic dramatic performance as Armande that covered slapstick to nightmare, while mezzo Anna-Helena Maclachlan seemed to have a tremendous time as Philomène, zinging about and attempting to upstage the other performers (as part of the production, it should be noted). Alex Bower-Brown sang Alexander with an elegant baritone, an ideal counter to bass Daniel Vening’s sardonic Portrait and tenor Samuel Stopford’s affable Oscar.
In the pit, Lada Valešová led two fine orchestral performances, giving a particular leanness to Bridge’s already trim score and letting the orchestra veer into frothy delight in Alexandre bis. While Comedy on the Bridge has obstacles in the extent to which it really allows young talent to shine, all the students involved should be applauded for a lively and rewarding evening.
