Theatre / Theatre Royal Bath
Phaedra and Minotaur, Ustinov Studio – ‘A mature, passionate performance which aches with desire’
This evening, a packed house at the Ustinov Studio shared an extraordinary experience – two performances linked by one myth, that of Phaedra’s disastrous love for Hippolytus and her sister Ariadne’s unrequited love for Theseus.
[Artistic director] Deborah Warner promised that she would programme her first season with a broad range of art forms, with the best of international contemporary creatives and performers. She is delivering on that promise, with bells on. In Phaedra and Minotaur she brings to Bath such quality, the excited and knowledgeable audience can hardly believe its luck.
Award winning mezzo-soprano Christine Rice gives us a guilt-ridden Phaedra, literally breast-beating and hair-tearing as she confesses her adulterous feelings and the terrible lie they lead her to tell.
is needed now More than ever
Christine Rice as Phaedra in Phaedra by Benjamin Britten, directed by Deborah Warner – Photo: Tristram Kenton
This opera was written by Benjamin Britten in 1976 for Dame Janet Baker, to great acclaim at the time. Today in Christine Rice we have a mature, passionate performance which aches with desire and shame. Her voice is pure, her connection to us is tangible – and her communication with pianist Richard Hetherington is really touching. As she wraps herself in the scent of her shame, Rice shrinks before our eyes – commanding our attention and sympathy in equal measure.
In the second piece – choreographed stunningly by Kim Brandstrup – we see the consequences of love-struck Ariadne’s decision to betray the Minotaur’s whereabouts and lead its slayer to safety, via her bed. Having spent a night seducing Theseus, she is abandoned by him, bereft until the god Dionysus reaches down to make her his own.
Danced with breathtaking strength and control, this story is told with sensuality in abundance. It also involves the use of climbing stones in a truly mesmerising performance by Tommy Franzen.
Bath audiences will be pleased to see that Ariadne is danced by ‘local-girl-made-amazing’ Laurel Dalley Smith, who was a local dance school pupil and is now a member of New York’s Martha Graham company.
Tommy Franzen and Laurel Dalley Smith in Minotaur, choreographed by Kim Brandstrup – Photo: Foteini Christofilopoulou
In keeping with the aesthetic we have seen from Deborah Warner already this season, the designers have once again created bare and spare settings, with simple wardrobe choices. Standing out, though, is Jean Kalman’s lighting design – it is a delight to see lighting used to such emotional effect.
Phaedra and Minotaur is already pretty much sold out – which is great for the Ustinov but not for you if you don’t already have a ticket. Try to get one, if you can. It’s pricey, but the more people want to see this kind of work, the more accessible it will become.
Main photo: Foteini Christofilopoulou
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