Hamlet (Brett Dean) at Glyndebourne

[Dave2002]

Seems that I'm in a minority here for actually liking the production, and I don't revere the play. In fact I don't really revere a lot of Shakespeare's plays - sometimes they're OK, sometimes not. Yet for me, this operatic production was gripping and whether the words were by Shakespeare or not (in fact many of them were) I found it considerably more palatable than having to sit through hours of actors mouthing off at each other.

Oh yes - someone mentioned it - it was in fairly modern dress, but I really didn't notice, and I really didn't care. I have seen the play in some form of period costume many years ago, but that was not particularly memorable. I have seen other period plays (mostly Shakespeare) in different forms, and quite a number in modern dress. Sometimes it is fairly light touch, and the costumes aren't a problem, though I find other updating, such as substituting armoured vehicles for horses, machine guns instead of swords etc. rather unnerving.

There was also mention of and comparisons with British composers, but Brett Dean was and perhaps still is, Australian, I think.

So I enjoyed it anyway - now more than once, and I hope to enjoy it again when I get round to watching the recorded version.

[Pulcinella]

Apologies: I seem to have misinterpreted Richard's comment about "straight" operatic treatment of Shakespeare.


(Reminder to self: Read posts more carefully before jumping in and commenting incorrectly! And listen to/watch this opera and make my own mind up. )

[Stanley Stewart]

After listening to the grace and eloquence of a Jacqueline du Pre performance in Sunday
evening's documentary, I turned my attention to Hamlet from Glyndebourne, reminding
myself that I'd seen more than a couple of dozen performances of the play in my lifetime
and aware that many operatic version attempts, under the umbrella of 'contemporary music' -
(shudder emoticon) lay in the vaults gathering dust. I wait with interest to see the fate
of Brett Dean's dirge. Throughout, I kept swatting away a tendency to 'hear' the cut dialogue as an antidote to the monotony of the score, recalling Raymond Chandler's line about 'time passing at the speed of a sick cockroach'.

I am not a musician and diverted my attention to the concept of a slick production,
offset by my appreciation of striking vignettes by John Tomlinson, in particular, - remembered
that he first caught my attention in a performance of Verdi's, The Sicilian Vespers,
Chelsea Opera, mid-70s, at Camden Opera. Bayreuth quickly in his sights.
A later performance in Gawain at the ROH, 1991, also registers. I often return to an off-air
DVD, indeed contemporary music at its most inviting. His voice perhaps a bit tired nowadays but...what an artist! Sarah Connolly a striking Gertrude, Kim Begley, a formidable
autocrat as Polonius, certainly not 'a foolish prating knave'. Much amused by Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern - a veritable Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne team - in this
version, they've survived execution during Hamlet's banishment to England thus wittily
replacing Osric as they become a team of water flies! Allan Clayton gained in stature as he
returned from England in a 'readiness is all' mode and I was moved by his resignation in his
exchanges with Horatio, (Jacques Imbralio). Initially a burly figure more suited to Lear,
his nimble movement finally caught the aspect of the sweet Prince. Yes, I'm ready for a further
shufti of an off-air DVD. Finally,of course, the play's the thing!

[Dave2002]

Thanks for watching. I've still not watched the whole of my recording, but I have sampled parts, in particular the mad scene with Ophelia. In this scene I felt that the recent live production benefited from the performance by Jennifer France, who is also considerably shorter than Barbara Hannigan (who sang well, but perhaps too well for someone on the verge of insanity) from the festival production and even more agile, but that Sarah Connolly was - as you wrote - a striking Gertrude. Mostly the productions were very similar, with good casts each time. The grave digger scene was done slightly differently for the Tour - probably as preparation for other venues. I did see the opera live both in the main festival and also in the first of the Tour productions.

As I expected, watching on TV is very much less gripping than in the opera house, so I can forgive anyone who turned it off or gave up - but then I have done the same with other operas in broadcast performances.

At least Brett Dean and his librettist Matthew Jocelyn didn't rescue Hamlet, as it appears Thomas did in his version from 1868 - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/ar.../14hamlet.html

[Suffolkcoastal]

Glyndebourne touring is at Norwich Theatre Royal in a few weeks (10 minutes walk away for me). They come every year I think but I've never been to a single production. Mostly it's the production that puts me off, though in the case of Hamlet it's the composer. Brett Dean is one of very few contemporary composers whose music gives me a real headache (the others are Gerald Barry & Louis Andriessen) and consequently I avoid it as much as possible.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A later performance in Gawain at the ROH, 1991, also registers. I often return to an off-air DVD, indeed contemporary music at its most inviting.

- I have that broadcast on a video; valuable for having the longer, first version of the Act One finale ("The Passing of a Year" bit).

Birtwistle does have the unfair advantage over Dean of being a great composer - the Music is "most inviting" not least because of its refusal to "write down" for an audience unused to listening to it. The composer believes in what he writes, and trusts the intelligence and open-mindedness of the listener to be able to follow what the Music has to say - if not immediately, then certainly eventually - the integrity of the man is in the power, the searing power, of the Music. Dean's Music by comparison sounds timid to me, as if afraid of upsetting its imagined audience; a compromised aesthetic producing half-hearted, weak-willed Music.

[Stanley Stewart]

Thanks for watching. I've still not watched the whole of my recording, but I have sampled parts, in particular the mad scene with Ophelia. In this scene I felt that the recent live production benefited from the performance by Jennifer France, who is also considerably shorter than Barbara Hannigan (who sang well, but perhaps too well for someone on the verge of insanity) from the festival production and even more agile, but that Sarah Connolly was - as you wrote - a striking Gertrude. Mostly the productions were very similar, with good casts each time. The grave digger scene was done slightly differently for the Tour - probably as preparation for other venues. I did see the opera live both in the main festival and also in the first of the Tour productions.

As I expected, watching on TV is very much less gripping than in the opera house, so I can forgive anyone who turned it off or gave up - but then I have done the same with other operas in broadcast performances.

At least Brett Dean and his librettist Matthew Jocelyn didn't rescue Hamlet, as it appears Thomas did in his version from 1868 - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/ar.../14hamlet.html

Thank you, Dave. A complement to Glyndebourne to see their flexibility in encouraging
a change in character or even narrative emphasis with cast changes rather than imposing
a repetitive sameness as some director's do. I really was impressed, indeed, moved by
the standard of performance in the TV relay - unusual in opera.

[Dave2002]

Glyndebourne touring is at Norwich Theatre Royal in a few weeks (10 minutes walk away for me). They come every year I think but I've never been to a single production. Mostly it's the production that puts me off, though in the case of Hamlet it's the composer. Brett Dean is one of very few contemporary composers whose music gives me a real headache (the others are Gerald Barry & Louis Andriessen) and consequently I avoid it as much as possible.

Maybe you should give it a try anyway - though it might be too expensive. [There are still a few seats at £31.50 on 17th November.] For us it's actually a better and cheaper experience to drive down to Glyndebourne than to go to any of the (sometimes) nearer local venues, where the tickets are more expensive.

I'm not going to defend Brett Dean as a composer - I'm still thinking of that. I have heard pieces by him which I really didn't like much. He's a nice guy, and actually a very good viola player - which as far as Hamlet is concerned I think shows up in a passage shortly before the end. We went to see Hamlet at the Festival - thinking we should give it a chance - but being prepared for it to do nothing for us at all. Instead we were sufficiently gripped to book to see it again.

It may not survive, and it's certainly hard to remember any of the "tunes" or to sing or whistle them, but that doesn't seem to be what the experience was about. Last week we saw the Barber of Seville (Rossini-not the Glyndebourne production) - much more singable (by listeners from the audience), but not necessarily as strong an experience. I somehow doubt that Brett Dean's music for Hamlet will stand alone (unlike Rossini's music) - but that doesn't invalidate it as a work.

[Darkbloom]

- I have that broadcast on a video; valuable for having the longer, first version of the Act One finale ("The Passing of a Year" bit).

Birtwistle does have the unfair advantage over Dean of being a great composer - the Music is "most inviting" not least because of its refusal to "write down" for an audience unused to listening to it. The composer believes in what he writes, and trusts the intelligence and open-mindedness of the listener to be able to follow what the Music has to say - if not immediately, then certainly eventually - the integrity of the man is in the power, the searing power, of the Music. Dean's Music by comparison sounds timid to me, as if afraid of upsetting its imagined audience; a compromised aesthetic producing half-hearted, weak-willed Music.

I last saw Gawain in a concert performance at the Barbican and it holds up really well. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how often it gets performed - John Tom is a one-off and he completely owned those roles. It's hard to see anyone filling his shoes.

[Richard Barrett]

I last saw Gawain in a concert performance at the Barbican and it holds up really well. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how often it gets performed - John Tom is a one-off and he completely owned those roles. It's hard to see anyone filling his shoes.

I'm sure that's been said about hundreds of operas over the course of the last four centuries! Personally I would be rather interested to hear someone else take it on. When I went to see it in its first run I found it somewhat underwhelming but it's grown on me since then, although to my mind he's never equalled his first two operas.

[Darkbloom]

I'm sure that's been said about hundreds of operas over the course of the last four centuries!

Well give me a few examples. The only one I can think off offhand is Ludwig Fischer, who created the role of Osmin, and basses have struggled to fill out the low notes ever since. I'd like too hear someone other than JT sing it too, but I can't think of any likely candidates offhand.

[bluestateprommer]

Just watched the Glyndebourne quarantine streaming video of Brett Dean's Hamlet, before the deadline in just shy of 18 hours. On just one listen (and I won't have time for another), maybe it's hard to judge, but if nothing else, I was far, far more engaged with the music than the other major contemporary opera video that I watched earlier this summer, Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves (from Opera Philadelphia). Obviously others like fhg are not enamored of Brett Dean's music, certainly compared to Birtwistle, which is fine. In that light, perhaps I'm a wuss for finding BD's opera here, if considerably 'lighter' than Birtwistle, much more engaging than Birtwistle for that very reason. (I have heard HB's Gawain and The Mask of Orpheus on CD way back in the day.)

Act I is insanely long compared to Act II, and parts do droop dramatically, to be sure, like the end of Act I. And the soundscapes around the theater clearly don't register as well through computer speakers. But the cast is strong and perform well, with Vladmir J. strongly guiding the proceedings from the pit. I was pleased to see Glyndebourne offer this during quarantine, and I was pleased to have seen and heard it.

[Dave2002]

We saw Hamlet twice in the opera house - where the surround sound effects are much more obvious than they would be in a TV presentation. Perhaps we were slightly biased by having met Brett Dean a few years ago in a music festival, though maybe only slightly. He's a very nice guy - but that doesn't of course mean we have to like his music - and indeed we are not enthusiastic about everything we have heard. We did, however, think Hamlet was pretty decent and gripping, and I would go and hear/see it again - though I'm sure it's much better live.

Sorry - I note that I seem to have written pretty much the same way back in this thread, but my opinion hasn't really changed.