The Opera Story – The Yellow Wallpaper (live At Sadler’s Wells)

London
15 September 2023

Modern opera is thriving at the moment with new pieces being commissioned regularly and finding homes in small theatres, such as The Arcola next to Café OTO in Dalston and various other venues.

Small production companies have been springing up for a few years now, bringing not only reworking of the classics but also brand new operas that are a mixture of the instantly recognisable in structure and also more challenging work that keeps modern opera vibrant. The Opera Story, founded by Hamish Mackay and Manuel Fajardo, have been bringing new exciting commissioned work to the stage for a few years now and continue to produce bold new work for a wider public that is beginning to grow in size.

The Yellow Wallpaper is based upon a novella written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that was written in 1913. The story itself revolves around a young woman and her husband who rent an old mansion where she is confined to one room as part of a cure for depression after the birth of her baby. Isolated from the infant and forbidden to write or do anything, she begins to focus on the slightly shabby yellow wallpaper that hangs in the room and this helps her focus her unconscious mind.

This was never going to be the easiest story to tell, but the combination of Joseph Spence’s lyrics and Dani Howard’s sublime and often minimalistic score brings out the tensions and inner turmoil within the story. The set up itself is quite minimal, with only pianist Berrak Dyer and cellist Midori Jaeger giving a fine account of Howard’s score. The cast is just two people as well, with singer Clare Presland and dancer Valerie Ebuwa being the major focus for the packed-out audience.

Presland commands your attention from the very beginning, her voice soaring over the profound melancholia of some of the score and imbuing every syllable of the libretto with passion and a stark intensity that creates an atmosphere that hums with the sense of sadness of a warm summer’s afternoon. What Howard does with score is incredible; it is transfixing and uplifting as much as it gives a sense of stillness and a certain otherworldliness that drags us into the very thoughts of Presland’s character.

Throughout, Ebuwa moves behind a subtle screen of uplighting that separates her from Presland. Charlie Morgan Jones’s design plays with the colours enough to reflect the emotions, but never do they overwhelm the production. Amy Lane’s direction plays to the strengths of the piece, as does Emma Ryott’s design. When Ebuwa finally steps through the curtain of light to stand alongside Presland, it feels like a magical moment, underplayed dramatically but still packing a punch.

Howard’s music I found reminiscent at times of pieces by modern composer Harold Budd or the melodic flair of The Penguin Café Orchestra with even some touches of Phillip Glass in there. But the music breathes with individuality and these things for me were only touchstones to use as a guide to discuss the score.

The hour the piece lasted seems to go by very quickly and that is always a fine endorsement for any production. I sat totally entranced by the opera as it moved along, delving into the thoughts of its character and taking us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions; but at the same time leaving us slightly uplifted by the end.

The Opera Story are planning more productions and they are certainly worth catching and supporting. They invest in new work that will help bring modern opera to a wider audience and keep challenging the staid notions of what the form is all about by taking their audiences on different kinds of journeys to discover new landscapes.

-Gary Parsons-