Word: britten
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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Returning to their British roots, TNP have referenced the Benjamin Britten opera “Peter Grimes” as an influence for their latest forray into musical experimentation. Fusing these operatic overtones with London electronica movements—dubstep and dancehall—Barnett has conceived an album which ricochets from ostentatious and oppressive climaxes to moments of melodic escapism. The result is a somewhat tiring journey, but it is a ride worth taking...
...more nuanced dynamic gestures often disappear beneath the accompaniment. Lucid narrative drive compensates for the occasional gaps in audibility, though, and a coherent collective vision of the direction of each scene helps anchor the plot to a regular pace (“Herring,” with apologies to Britten, does tend to saunter rather than walk). Matthew B. Bird ’10, as the village vicar, has the clearest sense of his surroundings and produces a correspondingly full sound that drew the most out of an otherwise secondary role. Bridget Haile ’11 performs the role...
...cleverest and most enjoyable aspect of the company’s performance, though, is the carefully maintained attention to the many styles, genres, and works that Britten gleefully ventriloquizes. Flirtation between Sid (James B. Danner ’12) and Nancy (Katie K. Schick ’10) swings into a harsh sort of jazz, sung with appropriate swagger and well-coordinated stage direction that emphasizes the awkwardness of the moment for Albert. Imitation folk songs are sung in a child’s squeal. Mock-Italian quintet singing is delivered with appropriate exuberance. Herring hiccups repeatedly...
...also a genuinely comic opera by Britten, one of the 20th century’s greatest composers who is best known for his expansive and probing works. Librettist Eric Cozier’s English-language text is “highly conversational” and “very funny,” Kramer adds...