(seen at the afternoon performance on 27th November 2022)
For only the second time ever, the monkey stuck its nose round the door of an opera house. Its tail followed and the whole remained in situ for a joyous three hours.
This isn’t opera as the monkey expected it to be. Fire-alarm pitch voices and overweight middle-aged folk pretending to be young lovers before dying for an hour. It isn’t a musical either – those with an ear for musical theatre alone won’t come out humming the tunes. What you will come out with is a strong feeling that Christmas has begun and that you have shared with 2300 others the spirit of the season at its best.
Based more on Philip Van Doren Stern’s 1943 short story “The Greatest Gift” than the beloved 1946 Frank Capra movie, we are in Bedford Falls, a little township in Upstate New York, Christmas Eve 1945. George Bailey is preparing to commit suicide over the theft of $8000 from his family’s benevolent local “Savings and Loan” business.
Clara, Angel Second Class, hears the prayers of the town for this good soul’s plight, and the First Class Angels give her the opportunity to resolve the situation. Her journey through his selfless life towards a heart-warming end is the reason the London Coliseum Gift Shop has opportunistically started stocking boxes of tissues (allegedly).
Danielle de Niese as Clara we first encounter on a swing high above the action. Barely ever off-stage, her opening each new door in her charge's life leads to a new moment for her to observe and hope he finds the right direction. The voice of an angel, compassion in every line, we can only hope our own guardian angels are similar.
We meet George initially as a child (Raphael Estavia) with brother Harry (Theo-Oliver Townsend) and friends Mary (Amira Lahrech) and Sam (Chris Dunckley). The quartet play a difficult key early scene with real mastery of some complicated movements and events.
Age 22 we join adult George (Frederick Ballentine), his Uncle Billy (Ronald Samm) and grown-up brother (Donovan Singletary) for the first time. Each surprised the monkey with not only the depth of characterisation but clarity of lyrical delivery – not something it found easy on its first visit. For those who don’t think opera can be realistically funny, Samm is straight out of “Only Fools and Horses” for those who remember Grandad.
There’s a beautiful relationship between Ballentine and “love him as long as she lives” adult Mary (Jennifer France). France shares the selflessness of her husband, while movingly also retaining his dreams of travel that refuse to die.
The darkness of town speculator and Scrooge (yes, “A Christmas Carol” was a huge influence on the source material) falls to Michael Mayes as Henry F. Potter. A menace who manages to sing every line with sarcasm or contempt, he lapped up the considerably less opera, more Palladium Panto, booing at his curtain call as a job well done. Which, well, it was. Still not on the monkey Christmas card list this year, though.
Without much to reference an opinion, the monkey delighted in some of Jake Heggie’s music, which brings in refrains of the season and period. Gene Scheer’s libretto repeats with sadness litanies of places and opportunities missed, but also small phrases of home. It actually ordered the San Francisco cast recording - first opera ever in its CD collection.
As the monkey noted earlier, musical theatre folk won’t come out humming the numbers but will certainly remember those plans... and the tears shed as the basket appears...
With Aletta Collins choreography, there is more movement than the monkey expected. A school dance gives the chorus a chance to shine, some enthusiastic period bopping going on stage right. Under Nicole Paiement the orchestra have a brio and cheer to match.
Giles Cadle’s simple arches with life’s doors either side and a rolling truck or two is effective, if perhaps lacking finish when viewed from extreme side stalls seats. The stars above and other more animated projections add an air of magic when combined with screens and even a little flying.
As only its second visit to an opera, a resounding success. London’s Christmas calendar is already stuffed with annually returning events from ‘The Nutcracker’ to ‘The Snowman.’ If the Arts Council can be persuaded to give ENO a second chance, it should be that “It’s A Wonderful Life” is added to the diary. The monkey knows it will be back, given the opportunity.
5 stars, standing ovation.
Photo credit: Danielle de Niese by Genevieve Girling.
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