Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets

When Victorian Opera was originally set up its charter was to fill a niche market, producing lesser known works, and since then they have fulfilled this. They certainly did with Black Rider.

Based on the same folk tale which Weber used for Der Freischűtz, it tells the story of a clerk who wants to marry a huntsman’s daughter, but the father will only allow her to marry a huntsman. So he purchases some magic bullets, the last one of which kills his fiancée. In Der Freischűtz the bullet only wounds the fiancée.

So this is a much darker telling. Described as a “music and theatre spectacle” it was certainly that. Movements were jerky and robotic, giving an edgy feel to the production. The set was a white box with many openings, some quite small, which were revealed at appropriate moments. At one stage one character crawled from one side of the stage to the other, leaving a trail of blood, which remained for the rest of the piece.

The devil was played by Cabaret star Meow Meow in sexy black. Her timing and movements were excellent, with strong vocals. Though not an opera, opera singers Kanen Breen and Dimity Shepherd played the two lovers, and each shone in extended arias towards the end.

Jacqueline Dark and Richard Piper were strong as the parents, with Paul Capsis, Winston Hillyer and Le Gateau Chocolat all adding to the drama.

Phoebe Briggs kept a steady hand on the ten piece band from the keyboard. With all the singers miked, they were free to unleash, and this wasn’t a show for those with sensitive ears. The music had a lot of cabaret with gospel, jazz and rock.

This was an enthralling night at that theatre, and one the audience will remember for a long time.

Graham Ford

Images: Pia Johnson Photography