Robin Hood’s Lament / Dido and Aeneus

I recently heard a visitor from Sydney express surprise that Melbourne had fourteen opera companies to Sydney’s three. I wouldn’t be able to name fourteen in Melbourne, and I don’t know if they included the G&S Societies, but we certainly have many more than three.

So what prompted Nigel McBain to start up another?

For a start this talented lad obviously has a passion for baroque opera, and no-one else appears to be focusing on this. Secondly, it appears to be an amateur company, while many of the others are semi-professional.

Not that there needed to be any apology. Nigel had assembled a very talented group.

First off was his own opera, Robin Hood’s Lament, written for the same orchestral forces he had planned for Dido. This was a dark take on the Robin Hood legend, with Robin married to Marion, who was having an affair with Little John and plotting Robin’s demise, while Friar Tuck was pining for the young Will Scarlett.

I found the music very accessible, mainly comprising arias, as in the baroque style. There were also some dancers adding to the action. English tenor, Christopher Cox, was impressive in the title role, though sounding a little tired in his fifth performance in four days. Nicole Free, Andrew Long and Stephen Pyk were also strong.

I have seen a number of productions of Dido and Aeneas but nothing as good as this. Whenever there was a pause in the action, the dancers would come on to maintain interest, while the chorus played a pivotal role, sometimes still, others rushing around, on one occasion crawling over the floor while singing.

In a generally young cast, Dido and Aeneas was dominated by the more mature Catriona DeVere in the title role. Her beautiful voice and secure technique were a delight. Andrew Long was a strong Aeneas and Cassandra Beckitt, who had four sons in the production, very good as Belinda.

The string septet under Nigel’s direction from the keyboard, worked well. Looking forward to what Nigel will make of Purcell’s King Arthur next year.

Graham Ford

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