Thanks to Jonathan Dodd for this review of Opera at the Garlic Farm. Guest opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. Ed
The thing that most often gives Opera a bad press is that it’s usually seen as elitist. Most people, I suspect, imagine lots of well-heeled people in dinner suits and posh frocks turning up at the Royal Opera House, sipping Champagne in the Interval and treating it as another opportunity to go out and socialise with similar-minded people. And this popular misconception would have it that none of them actually like opera anyway.
But it’s a whole different story when Popup Opera descends on a place you wouldn’t normally think of as a suitable venue, like our very own Garlic Farm. They bring their own mix of quality singing and enthusiasm along with them, and perform in a splendid spirit of make-do. If you google them you’ll see the most extraordinary list of venues, including caves and tunnels and mines. They just love what they do, and they do what they love really well.
The plots don’t always stand up to intense scrutiny
Last year they sang Cosi Fan Tutte, and this year they tackled an opera by Rossini from the early 19th Century, called The Italian Girl in Algiers. Amazingly, he wrote it when he was 21 years old, and he completed it in less than four weeks. The thing about opera is that the plots don’t always stand up to intense scrutiny, and usually it’s best not to try to understand what’s going on. Let’s say they’re more like a cross between Hello! Magazine and the Jerry Springer Show.
I shall try to summarise the plot as well as I can. There’s a hotel and casino in Algiers, run by a sleazy lothario called Mustafa. He’s gone off his wife and co-star in their shows, and he decides to hatch a plot to marry her off to a gambling addict who owes him a lot of money. The gambler is sweet on a girl back home, and she decides to rescue him by auditioning for the next show. Her best friend (who loves her) pretends to be her agent. Mustafa falls for her and gives her the starring role, she finds out her sweetheart is supposed to be marrying Mustafa’s ex-wife, and things go bad, then they get better, but I couldn’t keep up.
I have to admit that I lost the plot
I have to admit that I lost the plot. Partly because of the complicated comings and goings, but mostly it was because the music and the singing are so beautiful that you forget where you are and you follow the music instead. It was written for a full orchestra and cast in a crowded theatre, but such is the skill and enthusiasm of Popup Opera that they make do with six singers and one valiant pianist playing the whole opera non-stop. And if you need reminding, there are useful and very funny captions projected on screens to let you know what’s currently going on.
There were probably 200 people crammed into a small room at the Garlic Farm, and the singers were often close enough to touch, and it was wonderful. They don’t mind doing slapstick comedy, they make costume changes on-stage, often while singing, and the time passes in a flash. They occasionally engage with members of the audience too, so if you sit in an aisle seat you may find yourself on stage too.
The garliciest thing I think I ever ate
In the interval we all sat down to a meal at the restaurant. It was the garliciest thing I think I ever ate, even by the Garlic Farm’s standards, and it was delicious. A nice glass of wine, then back to Act 2, and more shenanigans. Lovely.
And in some of the arias, you could hear one of the peacocks, joining in from outside.
Look out for their next visit and give it a try. You won’t regret it.
