The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse
An Opera by Peter Maxwell Davies. BK Opera. Directed by Kate Millett. Brunswick Mechanics Institute, 270 Sydney Road, Brunswick. 8 – 10 September, 2022.

This is a chilling story that has very ethereal elements and casts man against nature in a very dramatic way. This original opera is based on true events about three lighthouse keepers who disappeared under mysterious circumstances from a remote Scottish location. The dark tone of the story is well suited to the genre and a great way to portray the larger-than-life characters who inhabit this eerie episode. 

Tenor Daniel Sinfield (Sandy/Officer 1), Baritone Jonathan Rumsam (Blazes/Officer 2), and singer Henry Shaw (Arthur/Officer 3/Voice of the Cards), have a formidable presence. This is enhanced by an unusual set which places the characters in a lantern shaped structure that creates an interesting play with light and reflections and gives the three lighthouse keepers a very spectral quality. While this is a very striking effect and opens the show well, the entire performance becomes very confined within this space. This separation from the audience also adversely affects the acoustics.

The sombre nature of the music captures the drama of the story well and while the deep and powerful tones of the performers give a great sense of drama their vocal range struggles at times. The music is conducted by Evan Lawson, and performed by Sung Won Choi (Repetiteur), Phoebe Smithies (Horn Player). The positioning of the musicians, especially the horn player, appears somewhat awkward, and the space overall could have been better exploited to give the production a livelier and more polished feel.

Patricia Di Risio 

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