Is it wrong to think of achievement in the arts in State of Origin terms? Is that being just too parochial?

Perhaps, but I couldn’t help feeling some Queensland pride sitting in the Joan Sutherland Theatre at the Sydney Opera House on the weekend for the opening night of Brett Dean’s brilliant opera Hamlet.

Because Dean, who is internationally renowned as a musician and composer, is a Queenslander, a Brisbane boy who grew up at Indooroopilly. (Dean was there to take a bow on the night.)

His brother Paul Dean is head of winds at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and a musician and composer of note too. Both are graduates of the Con in Brisbane (Brett studied viola and went on to become a violist in the Berlin Philharmonic for many years and Paul plays the clarinet) and both have gone on to have significant reputations.

Hamlet is on at Sydney Opera House until August 9, so if you happen to be heading to Sydney you can still catch a performance and maybe wear a maroon scarf or beanie. A beanie to the opera? I know it doesn’t sound right but I can assure you there were a couple of people at opening night on the weekend wearing them, so I guess it’s allowed.

Dean’s opera, his second, was commissioned for the Glyndebourne Festival in the UK, where it premiered to great acclaim in 2017. It has since been staged at the Adelaide Festival, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and, most recently, at the Munich Opera Festival and now the Sydney Opera House.

I only hope we get to see it Brisbane one day. It’s a terrific experience, quite unique, with Dean’s evocative if challenging music and a thrilling libretto by Canadian Matthew Jocelyn offering audiences additional insights into the inner world of thought and emotion of the crazed son trying to avenge his father’s death.

Dean’s Hamlet is an invigorating modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s revenge thriller but don’t worry – it’s still Shakespeare! Even if the words have been presented in a different order and Jocelyn has filtered out parts of the play.

His approach has been described as “reverent but mischievous” and that’s about right. Interesting how they deal with the most famous line from the play, “to be or not to be” and I won’t say anything more about that.

British tenor Allan Clayton is reprising the role of Hamlet beautifully opposite homegrown soprano Lorina Gore singing her Helpmann-winning performance as Ophelia, with American baritone Rod Gilfry as Claudius.

Australian mezzo soprano Catherine Carby (who performed so beautifully in Brisbane recently with the Australian Chamber Orchestra) is Gertrude. Opera Australia’s large cast is amazing and there are some impressive moments. Also, it’s nice that the singers occasionally make forays beyond the stage.

Being parochial again it was nice to see two Queenslanders featuring as players in the play within the play sequence – Iain Henderson and Virgilio Marino. That segment also featured the Scottish-born accordionist James Crabb, who has played in Brisbane and at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville. Crabb adds real pizazz and seems to be having a lot of fun. And that sense of fun is infectious.

One of the real treats for me was the Ghost of Old Hamlet, played by Jud Arthur. He’s suitably spooky with a touch of melodrama and gravitas. He comes on stage like a Frankenstein monster.  Shakespeare has some great ghosts and Arthur is perfect.

It is touches such as this that make the opera a tad more accessible. While it is musically esoteric at times, and quite an intellectual approach, the opera is also entertaining and retains the full essence of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Hamlet is directed by Neil Armfield, a master, who has created what one critic termed a “viscerally physical” production. He collaborated with Australian designers Ralph Myers and Alice Babidge to produce a slick royal court with darkness at its heart.

Contemporary opera specialist Anglo-German conductor Tim Anderson is making his Australian debut guiding the Opera Australia Orchestra through Dean’s complex and compelling score. It’s a new take on Hamlet but it’s still Hamlet and you will be pleased to hear that there’s still something rotten in the state of Denmark.

Hamlet plays the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House until August 9.

opera.org.au

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