CHESS

Yes.

I've been trying to decide whether I'd put my 2-cents in here about this rather disappointing production. (A production I'd been looking forward to all year, I have to say!)

Well, "it", you've prompted me into action! I agree with most of your comments -- except I regarded almost nothing about the evening 10/10.

In fact, even though the venue was filled to the brim, I had the *distinct* feeling the ensemble were waiting for the "real" audience to arrive. Frankly, I've been to dress rehearsals in empty theatres with more life than this.

I think I understand what the M.O. of the director was: he seemed to be trying to present the "austerity" of this cerebral world through the stillness and static-ness of the playing. But all he seemed to end up doing was "strait-jacketing" his talent. The delivery just did not work, overall.

(Forgive me here, but I did not get a program, so for some I'm going to have to use character names)

The American was cast WAAAAY out of his vocal comfort zone -- he's a goddamned baritone! And he was given a role with passages that hit stratospheric heights! And, for all his good works (and I actually think he did *very* well from an acting point of view), casting-wise he was let down by his director. This performer could probably never sing the role... so the blame for casting him falls sqarely on the directors shoulders, I'm afraid.

Nick Christo (The Russian); well, I've known Nick for a fair while. Sounded wonderful -- vocally, a marvel. And *I* know he can act... I've seen it plenty of times. BUT, this "stylistic approach" really hurt him. I could not understand his character visually or motivationally. Nor could I understand why he would have such a powerful effect on the two key women in his life... his characterisation exuded no excitement, little energy... and certainly no mystery. (If you're reading this, Nick, I think you are a wonderful performer. I blame the ham-strung style of the direction, frankly).

Molokov: Strong, both vocally and physically. Tremendous presence and grounding. A very real sensation of power and back-room control. A great constrast from the last role I saw him in (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). Very impressed by this actor.

Florence: Mysterious, sexy, strong. Great voice... but a little too 'low key' in the early parts of the night, which meant that even with radio mic, I couldn't understand her. But she came good vocally and was, hands down, the most intriguing characterisation of the night. Hidden depths were evident -- and this was a palpable sensation while watching her. (Though, again, several 'directorial decisions' -- or lack thereof -- really threatened her. Mountain Duet was one such scene. It got so 'broad' at one point, she could have been singing to/about her pet dog!)

Svetlana: Well, yes, the wig *was* unfortunate. Somehow, I don't think Soviet-era house-fraus (even ones attached to Soviet heros) would be glam'd up quite so much. If anything, a bare, plaintive look would have helped her make her KGB-inspired 'case' far better. Overall, did quite well with a 'nothing' role. Sounded lovely, though. And 'Someone Else's Story' sounded wonderful... but something seemed lost in telling the 'story' of the song...

The chorus were wonderfully proficient. Executionally, they did the job well. But, again, the 'spark' was absent -- going through the motions, no matter how well done, it dead. (Notable exception, the civil-servants scene. The most energised scene of the night. But you can probably attribute that to the 'terror' of potentially stuffing it up!)

Technically, a dogs breakfast as far as the sound goes. Radio mic's are all very well, but when performers are totally reliant on them to get across "key" emotional moments, something is very wrong. And the mixing was dreadful!! If this was a one-off, I'd let it go -- but this is the SECOND big musical I've seen at WAAPA where the sound has been a major weakness -- which for a musical is death!

The orchestra players should be given harsh lessons in being HEARD and not SEEN, as several of them decided they were bored enough to mime along with the performers or chew gum! Very, VERY distracting! Worst offender; 1st flute/piccolo. And worst of all, she didn't seem up to the task, musically! She was probably distracted by all her 'arseing about', though.

Lighting was quite good. Some places were severely underlit, which contributed to a general 'lacklustre' feeling. (An aside: I would have liked the chess-playing scenes to have been lit like the inside of a boxing ring -- that "bright canvas in a dark arena effect". It may have helped with the camerawork too... which was a nice touch.)

Overall; some nice ideas. But executionally disappointing, nonetheless... I think they would have been better off presenting this 'concert' version as a traditional Oratorio, with chorus, soloists, and orchestra all sharing the stage (black tie formal) -- at least then, the 'austerity' the director was shooting for would have worked.

Regards,
Jason Seperic