When Giacomo Puccini wrote La Rondine in 1913, he could never have imagined that 100 years later it would be performed in such a way as it was in Bristol this week. The truth, however, is that for most of the audience at the Paintworks for Opera di Peroni – “an immersive reimagining” of Puccini’s work – they would not be watching opera if it was not for this innovative event.
The event space at the Paintworks has seen plenty of beer and canapés. The difference here was that the beer was most certainly only one brand of Italian lager, and the mingling guests at the commencement of the night were both audience and performers.
The three acts were set in a plush apartment, a nightclub and a bedroom, with performers leading audience through the room and singing coming from as near as right next to us – marvellously accentuating the phenomenal lungs of opera singers and helped by musicians gathered around a shimmering white grand piano.
It may have been sung in Italian, but an English translation was beamed onto the walls. In a few modern twists, helped along by music producer Kwes, better known for his electronic output, the cast sung along to a house beat in the nightclub, where the principal characters also drunk bottles of Peroni to a few audience smirks.
Among the main actors, Polish soprano Anna Jeruc-Kopec (below) playing Magda was particularly accomplished; and she was well-matched by South Korean tenor Jung Soo Yun as Ruggero in a young and good-looking cast.
At times this did feel like being in the middle of one long advert, but the marketing push was subtle and the evening sophisticated, with an art form strange to many introduced in a stylish and accessible format.
