Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Met
by Melanie Wong
Photo credit: Sara Krulwich, The New York Times
Last Wednesday, a collection of talented young stars at the Met gave a lovably quirky performance of Britten's zany 1960 opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Met's sole contribution to this season's worldwide celebration of the centenary of Britten's birth. (See Britten100 for more info.) Unlike Shakespeare’s play, Britten’s account focuses most closely on the fairy world, and most of its staging takes place in the massive, brightly colored forest through which the characters zig-zag their way among mammoth green hills and trees.
From the start, Britten's eerie sliding string chords set the tone for the bizarre tale; his extraordinary and unconventional colors proved to be a perfect match for the enchanted forest and its inhabitants. As always, the Met Orchestra exhibited impassioned and nearly flawless playing.
The young Broadway star Riley Costello starred in the spoken role of Puck, the mischievous and high-spirited fairy who is ultimately responsible for wreaking havoc among mortal lives. Costello delivered an energetic performance, bouncing around the stage and popping out when you least expected him. A trumpeter often accompanied Puck onstage, his playing precise and comfortable even into the highest registers of the instrument.
However, it was the motley crew of actors whose slapstick comedy truly stole the show—in particular, baritone Matthew Rose as Bottom and tenor Barry Banks as Flute. There was nothing like watching Rose as the man-turned-donkey confusedly sang and whinnied his way into the bed of Tytania, the hexed fairy queen (sung by soprano Kathleen Kim). And in the third act's play-within-a-play, Flute performed a gut-busting caricature of Thisbe, the heroine of "Pyramus and Thisbe."
Britten's opera, like the play, ends with a quick triple wedding of the three sets of couples, and there is a moment of true beauty in the music as the fairies, now dressed in all black, bless the house.
Appropriately enough, this fun and fantastic opera will give its final performance on Halloween night; tickets available at the box office or online.