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Nicholas Sharratt, left, with Steven Page in The Devil Inside.
Nicholas Sharratt, left, with Steven Page in The Devil Inside. Photograph: Bill Cooper
Nicholas Sharratt, left, with Steven Page in The Devil Inside. Photograph: Bill Cooper

The Devil Inside review – spirited operatic update of a sinister tale

This article is more than 8 years old

Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Novelist Louise Welsh and composer Stuart MacRae’s adaptation of a Faustian story by Robert Louis Stevenson is as economical as it is engaging

Composer Stuart MacRae and librettist Louise Welsh’s third and so far largest operatic collaboration – a co-production by Scottish Opera and and Music Theatre Wales – is an adaptation of a sinister tale by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original story, entitled The Bottle Imp, is set in Hawaii during the 19th century, although Welsh has moved the action to the here and now. The scenario contains obvious resonances of the Faust legend. Given how successful that has been as an operatic source, it is surprising that no one has apparently thought of setting Stevenson’s version to music before.

On their travels, two scruffy young backpackers come across a mansion. Its elderly occupant explains how he has acquired his extraordinary wealth: from a bottle containing an imp that grants every wish. Now he wishes to dispose of it.

Wish upon an imp … Rachel Kelly and Ben McAteer in The Devil Inside. Photograph: Bill Cooper

There are, however, two major catches: the bottle can only be sold at a price lower than that at which it was purchased; and should its owner die while still possessing it he will be damned for all eternity.

Richard, one of the backpackers, persuades his friend James to buy the bottle. What becomes of them and their strange acquisition is the subject of a finely paced, immaculately crafted piece that maintains constant musical and dramatic momentum over its 110-minute span.

With only four singers (baritone Steven Page skilfully plays the Old Man in the first scene and the canny Vagrant in the last), and an orchestra of 14 players, the production is as economical as it is engaging.

Nicholas Sharratt as Richard.

Welsh provides a direct and immediate text, which MacRae sets to music with total verbal clarity. Tenor Nicholas Sharratt embodies the impulsive, increasingly troubled Richard, while baritone Ben McAteer is convincing as the steadier, less tormented James. There’s also the figure of Catherine, sung with fresh-toned lyricism by mezzo Rachel Kelly, whom James marries and who, like the corresponding female character in Stevenson’s story, attempts to push an apparently irreconcilable moral conundrum towards a possible resolution.

Matthew Richardson’s production, designed by Samal Blak, makes a virtue of simplicity while underlining the creepiness of the tale. Crucially, it presents an unforgettable visualisation of the lurid, malevolently populated green bottle, whose sonic counterpart proves as memorable in MacRae’s imaginative score. Indeed, the composer’s musical ideas convey character and situation with precision and focus. Michael Rafferty, meanwhile, conducts a spirited and impeccably clean-edged performance.

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