This production was originally premiered at Glyndebourne in 1975, and has become one of the most iconic designs of our time in modern opera. Its appeal and popularity is in no small part due to David Hockney’s design, based on William Hogarth’s 18th century etchings, which, in turn, originally inspired Stravinsky and Auden to collaborate on an operatic version of the story.

This famous production has not been out of the operatic circuit since its first appearance thirty years ago, having graced most of the world’s major operatic stages (and acquiring enough frequent flyer miles to fly to the moon and back, I'd estimate) before finally arriving at the Opera House this season. Unfortunately, it does show signs of physical wear and tear - although that could also be seen (charitably) to add to the Hogarthian design ethos.

Hockney’s aesthetic is cleverly grounded in the few basic colour tints commonly associated with engraved prints, with strong blacks and blues in limns and outlines contrasting against greens and reds in coloured fills. Even more eye-catching are the crosshatched intaglio patterns after Hogarth, pervasively used through the sets, costumes and even props to create an internalised, cartoon-like stage-world in which this morality tale is set.

Musically, The Rake’s Progress was based by Stravinsky on a neoclassical model after another 18th century genius, Mozart. Its gentle dissonance and use of orchestration (including a harpsichord as the continuo accompaniment for the recitatives) draws on two sound worlds 200 years apart (with operatic touches from Gluck, Donizetti, Verdi and Rossini en passant), which tips its hat to the past while looking forward to the future.

Richard Hickox had the reading of Stravinsky’s strange, surreal music totally surrounded (to coin a phrase), eliciting some virtuoso playing from the various sections of the orchestra which so often goes unnoticed because of the goings-on onstage, yet at the same time creating a sympathetic canvas for his singers to play on. Director John Cox blocks the action with deftness, highlighting aspects of tragedy and comedy in the narrative with grace and wit.

John Heuzenroeder’s Tom Rakewell and Leanne Kenneally’s Anne Trulove were both sung wonderfully. Heuzenroeder, as the eponymous protagonist, had the lion’s share of singing on the night, yet he sustained the demanding role excellently, portraying the ebb and flow of Rakewell’s emotions from youthful love to lasciviousness to world-weariness to despair and finally repentance. As Anne Trulove, Kenneally was as delightful as ever in the admittedly thankless, one-dimensional role, with her Act III swan-song “Gently, little boat”, set among the madmen in Bedlam, capping a splendid performance.

As the devilish alter ego Nick Shadow, Joshua Bloom was impressive and charming, the proverbial villain one loves to hate. Bloom joins a distinguished list of vocalists who have claimed this part for their own, including John Pringle, Samuel Ramsey and Bryn Terfel. The hair-raising tension between himself and Rakewell in the graveyard where they are playing cards for Rakewell’s eternal soul was palpable, playing the perfect foil as Rakewell's tempter.

The supporting roles were all equally praiseworthy: Catherine Carby totally eats the scenery as Baba the Turk, Elizabeth Campbell drew on her vast experience to play the keeper of the bawdy-house, and Kanen Breen was simply hilarious and gay as the auctioneer. Even the well-drilled chorus deserves mention for their diverse roles - as the whores and customers in the brothel, the bidders at the auction, and the patients in the madhouse - in this very difficult opera.

As morality tales go, the narrative of The Rake’s Progress is fairly straightforward, and the characters very simply drawn. Thus, any production by necessity depends greatly on the aesthetics of the production and singing to give it the right depth and temperament. The popularity of Hockney’s aesthetics, coupled with another first-rate cast from Opera Australia, accomplishes exactly just that.

Details

Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Director: John Cox
Associate Director: Ptolemy Christie
Designer: David Hockney
Lightning Designer: Robert Bryant
Assistant Conductor: Stephen Mould
Cast:
Anne Trulove: Leanne Kenneally
Tom Rakewell: John Heuzenroeder
Nick Shadow: Joshua Bloom
Mother Goose: Elizabeth Campbell
Trulove: Conal Coad
Baba the Turk: Catherine Carby
Sellem: Kanen Breen
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