Opera Scotland

Mansfield Park 2016Edinburgh Studio Opera

Read more about the opera Mansfield Park

A chamber opera by Jonathan Dove based on the classic novel by Jane Austen, Mansfield Park was commissioned in 2011 by a small group called Heritage Opera. They generally perform in intimate venues, favouring stately homes. A school hall might, therefore, not seem an appropriate location for a performance. However Edinburgh Academy is an attractive early nineteenth century building in classical revival style, and the hall a beautiful oval entered through the central portico. It is reminiscent of the work of Adam, or of a large banking hall. It has the added advantage of an excellent acoustic.

This is a hugely attractive and entertaining piece, making a surprising success of adapting a work which generally seems well-enough fashioned not to require musical embellishment. However the chosen style works well, with lots of short scenes giving snapshots of the events. At the last of the four evenings, the ten singers gave uniformly accomplished performances. The greatest challenge for young artists is sometimes the portrayal of 'grown ups', in this case Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram and Mrs Norris. Those three singers, tactfully directed by Rebecca Meltzer, managed to avoid any sense of exaggeration or caricature. The one characterisation where that may be acceptable is in the interpretation of the idiot Mr Rushworth, who was given an appropriately energetic performance.

The great success of this adaptation is in the depiction, with minimal means, of attractively three-dimensional characters in a score accompanied by two expert pianists that held together beautifully under Derrick Morgan.