Last night I sat in a beautiful room and listened to a fabulously sung tale about serial killers.
It was a brilliant night out and Sweeney Todd: demon barber of Fleet Street was every bit as awesome as I'd hoped it would be. My companion, The Opera Newbie, was also very impressed, and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We laughed in all the right places, jumped (embarrassingly) at unexpected loud noises, and clapped enthusiastically whenever terrible things happened (he's in the chair! he's just had his throat cut! he's sliding from the chair through a trapdoor and into the basement!)
I was a bit nervous that the live opera performance wouldn't measure up against the recent Tim Burton movie, which was visually stunning and starred the always-brilliant Helena B-C, as well as badly-behaved Johnny Depp.
Sometimes when you're watching a live show and there's lots of singing, it can be hard for people who don't know the story (or the songs), but Opera Newbie reported that he pretty much followed the lot. And the set was gorgeous. Deceptively simple, but with lots of different clever bits that moved in mysterious ways. The lighting was almost a star in its own right, too, with atmospheric fog and really effective spotlights making things look darn scary quite often.
My favourite character in any of the different versions I've seen is always Mrs Lovett, and last night was no exception - Antoinette Halloran's voice, acting, costume were all fabulous, and I totally have a fangirl crush on her. I'm also finding myself humming bits of her songs, and vaguely thinking that this weekend I might try making some pies.
If you're thinking about going along, maybe don't take the kids - it's sweary, and bloody, and has some naughty bits too. But if you have the opportunity to grab some last-minute tickets for the show for yourself and your grown-up friends you absolutely should do that (it's on til Saturday, and there's even a matinee performance, so there's really no excuse!)
- More about NZ Opera’s production of Sweeney Todd at the Isaac Theatre Royal, 12 October to 15 October.
- Book tickets to Sweeney Todd
- Find Sweeney Todd resources in our catalogue
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