Live Review: Dark Mofo: The Sleeping Beauty

One of the hottest tickets in town for the Dark Mofo festival was for a puppet show no less, and what a spectacle it turned out to be.

A smattering of seats in the theatre were taken by a handful of lucky children but the majority of the audience were grown-ups, well acquainted with the classic Charles Perrault fairy story of Sleeping Beauty, but probably not familiar with the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi's reimagining of it. The original production, staged in 1922, was a smash hit that toured the globe and, nearly 100 years later, it is just as appealing, being at once witty, whimsical and wondrous.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles, The Sleeping Beauty is a charming chamber opera masterfully directed and realised by Nancy Black: exquisite voices from the Victorian Opera singing alongside and bringing to life giant puppets designed by Joe Blanck, with many wonderfully choreographed humorous scenes, some ballet, and — tying it all together — a score performed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

It is a complicated production and technically demanding with a large cast, including several puppeteers sharing a small stage, but with such talent it was made to look effortless. The voice of coloratura soprano Elizabeth Barrow was shimmering and exquisite; tenor Carlos E. Bárcenas, as the Prince, was charming; and mezzo soprano Liane Keegan brought life and pathos to the role of the Old Lady. There were many wonderful interactions between the singers providing the voices to the puppets and the puppets themselves — a final scene, where the prince is trying so hard to reach the land where the Princess is sleeping, one of them. There is also a magnificent scene with a giant tree puppet, and the Old Lady puppet is particularly wonderful. The lighting is sublime, even employing some shadow-puppetry techniques, and the audience is treated to one surprise after another. Towards the finale, the full cast assemble on stage for a rather quirky dance number, once again taking the audience by surprise.

The show is absolutely delightful and the hope is that, after only a short debut run in Melbourne earlier in the year and too few showings at Dark Mofo, it can be toured nationally — as it so well deserves to be.