A Child of Our Time

Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time reminds us that even out of times of tragedy can come hope. This oratorio was Tippett's artistic and emotional reaction to the events that led to the 'Kristallnacht' pogrom of November 1938.

Premiered at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on March 19, 1944, the work is based on the formal and historical models of the Bach Passions and Handel's Messiah and centres on the subject of the death of an individual, set against the universal background of human suffering. Uniquely, Tippett interpolates the use of spiritual songs that tend to draw the audience even closer to the subject matter.

Part I deals with the general state of oppression in our time; Part II tells the story of a young man’s attempt to seek justice and the catastrophic consequences; while Part III considers the moral to be drawn.

This production is interestingly staged. The soloists, choir, and orchestra are dressed in day clothes, presumably to highlight the image of a united humanity. The soloists are scattered throughout the choir instead of standing at the front as is normal and the house lights are brought up shortly before the end of the piece to allow the singers to see us and merge performers and audience into one body.

Behind the singers is a giant screen that uses vision (by Sean Bacon & Alan John) to mirror the libretto, the orchestra and the soloists, particularly the stark image of a gun pointing at us near the end of the performance. Effective lighting (Mark Pennington) focuses attention and accentuates changes of mood.

Brett Weymark is obviously passionate about this work and the mass effect of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and voice is powerful. His command of the orchestra and large number of singers is outstanding, some of the best I have seen.

The soloists - Jessica Dean (soprano), Elizabeth Campbell (Alto), Henry Choo (Tenor) and Pelham Andrews (Bass) - serve as the story tellers while the choir provides comment. All provide memorable moments - Dean’s soaring voice over the spirituals, Campbell’s impassioned ‘The Soul of Man’, Choo’s heartbroken ‘A Boy Sings in his Prison’ and Andrew’s rich velvet bass narration.

The Adelaide Festival Community Chorus, comprising members of the Graduate Singers and the Iwiri Choir, sing passionately, especially in the spiritual sections, with a cascading effect of question and answer, or comment and counter comment. Highlights include the spirituals ‘Steal Away’, ‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I See’ and the iconic ‘Deep River’. The effect on the audience was obvious and I saw tears in the eyes of some of the audience at the conclusion of the performance.

As wonderful as the production is, there were occasions when the balance between the orchestra and the female soloists was not even. Some of the lyrics were lost.

A Child of Our Time is an important piece musically, historically, and most of all, to caution us that these events must never happen again.

Barry Hill

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