Thomas Larcher: The Hunting Gun - Samuel Boden, Peter Schöne - Aldeburgh Festival 2019 (photo Stephen Cummiskey) |
Thomas Larcher’s first opera, directed with flair and imagination by the acclaimed Austrian actor/film director, Karl Markovics
Thomas Larcher: The Hunting Gun - Peter Schöne Aldeburgh Festival 2019 (photo Stephen Cummiskey) |
The scenario - based upon the best-selling post-war Japanese novella The Hunting Gun by Yasushi Inoue published in 1949 - surrounds a poet enjoying a winter’s walk on Mount Amagi who, by chance, comes upon a solitary, lonely and sad-looking hunter searching for his prey. He publishes a poem about him. His name: Josuke Misugi.
Believing himself to be the central character depicted in the poem, Misugi writes to the Poet to explain the cause of his sadness through three letters coming from three women closely associated with him: his wife Midori, his mistress Saiko (who happens to be Midori’s cousin and best friend) and his niece Shoko, the daughter of Saiko.
Thomas Larcher: The Hunting Gun - Giulia Peri, Peter Schöne, Sarah Aristidou Aldeburgh Festival 2019 (photo Stephen Cummiskey) |
Following a decade of their illicit love-affair, the truth emerged of Saiko’s affair with Misugi and distressed and guilt-ridden she implores her daughter Shoko to burn her diary to get rid of the evidence - but to no avail. She’s highly distracted by the detailed content she finds in it. In ancient Japanese culture, there’s a long-standing history of suicide being honourable in matters of serious wrongdoing therefore, in the end, Saiko let go and takes a poisonous draught while full of shame and remorse for being so indiscreet to Midori.
The opera’s action is set against a simple white-covered origami-influenced paper cut-out set designed by Katharina Wöppermann comprising an oblong-shaped open-ended white box while Mount Amagi was represented as a steep and narrow crooked walkway punctuated by a large puffy white cloud whilst the back wall of Snape Maltings’ vast stage area was used as a screen flashing a series of video sequences (masterminded by director, Karl Markovics) showing the ever-changing pattern of the seasons and so forth. And giving the right emphasis to the overall stage picture, Bernd Purkrabek’s simple lighting effects hit the mark.
Thomas Larcher: The Hunting Gun - Iris van Wijnen - Aldeburgh Festival 2019 (photo Stephen Cummiskey) |
In fact, Mr Larcher’s meticulous instructions for the players could have jumped right out of a cookery-book. Here’s a taster: ‘vibraphone mallet heads wrapped in aluminium foil’ or ‘bass drum, rub with brush or sponge’ but, perhaps, best of all, ‘piano: roll billiard-ball along the strings until it hits the frame’. The ‘fireworks’ department will never, I think, be the same again!
Anything but conventional, Mr Larcher’s ‘orchestra’ was strong on woodwind and brass restricting the strings to just a quartet aided by double-bass. Anyhow, he certainly delivered a ravishing and captivating score that in its climactic and most dramatic passages was punctuated by the tight sound of hard repetitive drum beats - a technique often used in Japanese Noh Theatre - to illustrate and highlight the stage action.
The same Japanese theatre style often uses an off-stage chorus to complement the performers and, in this respect, Mr Larcher fell in line with this convention and the seven forceful and well-controlled voices of Exaudi Vocal Ensemble became an integral part of the overall orchestral texture and were immaculately heard from their off-stage position.
The opera was extremely well cast and acted in a slow and minimalist sort of way. Samuel Boden (Poet) looked the part from head to toe not only by his style and dress but also by his actions. He only appeared at the beginning and at the end of the opera. French soprano, Sarah Aristidou, put in a fiery and bruising performance as Shoko as befitting her angst and anger hitting the top range of her bright sparkling voice with consummate ease while the despairing and anguished role of Midori was well portrayed and beautifully sung by Italian soprano, Giulia Peri, in an effortless and subdued manner. German mezzo-soprano, Iris van Wijnen, brought pathos and sadness to the role of Saiko while German baritone, Peter Schöne, as Josuke Misugi, the huntsman, played his role in a diffident and solitary manner harbouring the guilt and mistrust of a person found out.
Thomas Larcher: The Hunting Gun - Giulia Peri, Iris van Wijnen, Peter Schöne Aldeburgh Festival 2019 (photo Stephen Cummiskey) |
Mr Larcher’s first foray into the genre of opera has handsomely paid off. The Hunting Gun has been a big success and by seeing it at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, with its cosy, intimate and warm setting, it couldn’t be better.
Thomas Larcher: The Hunting Gun - Samuel Boden Aldeburgh Festival 2019 (photo Stephen Cummiskey) |
Samuel Boden (Poet)
Sarah Aristidou (Shoko)
Giulia Peri (Midori)
Iris van Wijnen (Saiko)
Peter Schöne (Josuke Misugi)
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
Maria Fitzgerald (assistant conductor / répétiteur)
Karl Markovics (director / video production)
Christopher Harris (director’s assistant)
Katharina Wöppermann (set designer)
Bernd Purkrabek (lighting designer)
Benedikt Marte (assistant lighting designer)
Exaudi Vocal Ensemble (director: James Weeks)
Knussen Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth)
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