Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace Lukewarm
St. Andrew's Uniting Church, 19 to 26 May 2002
Any attempt to 'modernise' an operatic (or theatrical) work carries with it a double-edged sword: go too far and the finished product will be incongruous with the original social context and the production runs the risk of alienating loyal audiences; don't go far enough and it comes off as yet another half-hearted, even patronising, attempt on the part of high culture to look 'modern' without giving up any of its well-guarded hallowed ground. If anything, Opera Queensland and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music's version of Benjamin Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace falls victim to the latter scenario.
Written in 1966, The Burning Fiery Furnace is the second of Britten and librettist William Plomer's Three Parables for Church Performance, which drew on both the Judeo-Christian and Japanese Noh traditions. The libretto's source is the Old Testament tale of three young men from Israel who, in Babylon, face the threat of being cast into the furnace rather than succumb to the idolatry of the decadent Babylonians - their faith comes to the attention of God who sends an angel to shepherd them safely through the flames. In this production, according to director Gregory Massingham: "I have tried to translate this ancient tale into a modern parable. Babylon is seen as the symbol of all that is worst in the modern commercial system, encapsulating the least favourable features of globalisation and prevailing corporate greed." The need to retain the original libretto and text of operatic works creates significant limitations on any attempt to make the performance more relevant to contemporary audiences, and the production design and costuming carry the burden of the enterprise.
In this production, the world of ancient Babylon is transformed into that of the modern-day global corporation by means of the bare necessities in the way of costumes and props: green paper money and gold coins are thrown about and eaten in the feast; the 'Babylonians' (king and courtiers alike) appear in conservative charcoal grey or black suits, the Jewish purist heroes in a muted bone. This really doesn't move us very far along from the 'black hats, white hats' system of identifying villains from heroes so overused in early Westerns. Minimalism can be a very powerful technique in any art form, but there is a big difference between minimalism and over-simplification coupled with obviousness. The attempt to create maximum impact with a minimum of symbolic information was also hampered by the performers themselves, some of whom failed to express the quietly restrained power of the Noh tradition, their loose movements and blank expressions merely giving the impression of lifelessness.
Musically there were some fine and well-directed moments, particularly the admirably accurate synchronisation of Britten's cacophonic ensemble episodes. The crystalline quality of Tanya Cooling's voice in the role of the Angel is worthy of special mention. There was also some solid percussion, French horn and flute playing from the accompanying instrumentalists, often taken full advantage of Britten's trademark sense of the sonic possibilities of truly innovative orchestration. The overall ensemble was marred slightly by poor intonation and a lack of communication between stage and podium, although I felt this was sure to improve throughout the run of the production. The aura of the darkened cathedral, illuminated only by grandiose stained-glass windows, combined with the hushed stillness required of the audience, should have set the scene for a powerful experience. But this sacralised atmosphere actually detracted from the symbolic power of the production in its incarnation as contemporary fable.
I couldn't help thinking that it would have been more effective if the Babylonians had remained Babylonians and the Jews remained Jews, in keeping with the church setting, leaving the contemporary application of the parable to the presumably intelligent audience. This is not to say that the opera couldn't have been modernised: the subtext is there for it to be made into a powerful allegory of modern global capitalism pitted against local, culturally-specific allegiances, but not in this setting, and not just by dressing the singers in suits - in the end, the Furnace was downright unsubtle and decidedly lukewarm.
Details
The Burning Fiery Furnace by Benjamin Britten
featuring artists from the Conservatorium Opera School and Conservatorium Orchestra (Ensemble)
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